Meanwhile
by EricIzMine
Summary: EPOV 'What-if' AU. Eric and Sookie had an unbelievable intervention in the later chapters of Bored To Death. In Meanwhile, we get to see what they do with the chance to start over. Bored To Death was the first story in the MultiVerse; Meanwhile is the second.
1. Chapter 1

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 1**

**A Fresh Start**

There were only two remarkable things about my early evening…

On top of the excitement I felt coming from Pam (most likely explained by her unleashed shopping spree), I was feeling an unreasonable amount of anxiety and hesitation. It wasn't Pam. Sookie had seemingly come to terms with 'if' and was struggling with some sort of dilemma. Not only was I going to be the enjoying the fruits of her irrational tirades, I was going to be feeling them too. The only peace I got from what I'd been told came from knowing I wouldn't steer myself wrong…

_**And…**_

I found myself looking forward to Sookie's appearance at Fangtasia. I growled at myself as I reached for my phone, sure that having Pam kick me in the balls nightly would probably be more enjoyable than being taunted by the enigmatic little mind reader on a regular basis… And the idea might get added to the short list of chores that Pam doesn't mind.

She huffed a bothered breath into the phone. "Hello?"

"What seems to be the problem?"

"What?"

"Shortly after I rose, I began feeling Pam's shopping mood. It's an odd combination of determination and giddiness… And you… _**you**_ seem to be bothered by something."

"Wow. Really? That's…" She was suddenly fearful and angry as an alternative.

"I _did_ tell you that I would be able to feel your emotions."

"No… I mean, yeah, you did… but… It kind of makes me sick to know how well that works. Bill could feel me all this time."

"Unless he's the only vampire I've ever heard of to be lacking in that department, yes… You're healed though."Changing the subject since I had never been guilty of enjoying Bill as the topic du jour.

She giggled. "Yeah. By the time I was done drinking it, my bruises were gone… Thanks again."

"You're welcome. I have my uses… So back to why I called. I had a pretty clear picture in my mind of you pacing the floor and chewing on your lip. What had you so flustered?"

"Ok, _**THAT**_ you didn't tell me."

"What?"

"You knew I was pacing and chewing my lip."

I started laughing at her. "You were doing it last night in my office. I was imagining it, nothing more."

"Oh. That's a relief. I was thinking that you could like, I don't know… '_**SEE**_' me."

"No. I just have a vivid imagination. What are you wearing?"

"You're not funny."

"Are you lying in bed? I am."

"Eric!"

"That's more like it… try _moaning_ my name instead though…"

"If I thought I had half a chance of winning, I'd try to kick your ass."

"If I promise to play fairly, would you consider a wrestling match? _Naked of course_."

"I'm going to hang up."

"Without telling me why you were so anxious? I could help you to relax."

"Or you could give me a headache… What do I wear to Fangtasia? The way you looked through my closet last night… I don't think I want to wear a sundress again even if I had many left."

"I quite enjoyed the sundresses."

She growled at me. "Are you always such a pill?"

"No. I think you bring out the best in me."

"Eric, you're not helping…"

"You aren't playing along either."

"What should I wear?" Before I had the chance to tell her that clothing was optional, she caught herself. "…because _**I WILL**_ be dressed."

I laughed at her again. "If you insist… I can't say that it really matters. You've seen the usual customers. The dress code is pretty liberal, though… I have to admit that I'm curious to see you in something backless."

"It doesn't matter?"

"Come to think of it, something sheer would be nice."

"All of that… _and it doesn't matter_?"

"What are you wearing right now, Sookie?"

"What are _you_ wearing, you giant **pervert**?"

"Nothing."

"Jerk."

"You asked and I'm still in bed. Well?"

She cleared her throat and I felt a healthy dose of impishness from her… "I'm wearing long johns, tube socks, a snow suit and mask, and boots that come up to my knees. Happy now?"

"Delighted. It's as though you've wrapped yourself like a gift. The snow suit should be fun. They have a lot of zippers."

She started cackling. "I should've known you could make that dirty! I'll see you in just a little bit."

"Sookie?"

"Yeah?"

"Panties weren't on the list."

She gasped. "Oh. My. G…"

She'd hung up before she finished and judging by her blend of aggravation and amusement, she was most likely still 'complaining' about me to her rack of clothes.

When I walked into my office, Pam was behind my desk in her 'people' clothes with her feet propped up. The usual. "Get your bejeweled ass out of my chair, brat."

"Liar." She didn't bother looking up.

"No… No, I'm pretty sure that I _**genuinely**_ want to sit behind my own desk. Get up."

She rolled her eyes and took her laptop to the couch to continue her shopping. "I don't like this couch. It's lumpy and smells like a Guadalajara goat hospice… and you're lying about your disposition. Don't fake being grumpy when you're in a good mood for once."

"Buy another one… And why would I be in a good mood?"

"I already ordered it and the matching rug. The other Sookie told me where I found a good one last night. The shelter up the street will appreciate this one as a donation, I suppose… And you're in a good mood because Sookie is coming to the bar tonight."

"How would you know that?"

"I called her. _Do you know she's listed_?" _Coy, Pam? Really?_

"Of course I know that she's listed. Why did you call her?"

"My task of outfitting her. A girl can't just give a size to a boutique and keep her fingers crossed. I needed to know details. As it turns out, her waist is more of a 6, but her curves need more room… I'm sure you've noticed _her curves_ though… by the way, light pink with black ribbon trim."

"I'd thank you for being thorough if I thought that was your only reason to call her. What's pink with black ribbons?"

"When I called Sookie, she answered the phone by snapping, 'They're light pink with black satin ribbons. Now would you let me get dressed?' I'm not sure what she was talking about, but she apologized for thinking you were the one calling… What _was_ she talking about?" The panties I was going to be thinking about until I could chew them off of her…

"You deserve a merit badge for message delivery, Pam. Well done."

She snorted, knowing the answer. "Would you like to know about the clothing I've arranged for the trip?"

"I'm sure it's all spectacular. I'll see it all soon enough. You might as well be speaking another language when you describe women's clothing anyway."

"Fine… The other Sookie gave me a couple of specifics… items the other you enjoyed _in particular_…"

"Is it at all possible for you to not torment me about my interest in Sookie Stackhouse?"

"It isn't torment… Don't take the joy out of this for me." Of course, how could I have possibly forgotten it was all about Pam? How foolish of me.

"What joy?"

She rolled her eyes and started to leave. "You might have been too distracted to notice, but I saw what _**you**_ look like 'happy'… Call it what you want, but I'm looking forward to this."

"This?"

"You being with Sookie. It makes sense… God knows you wouldn't let yourself fall in love with anyone otherwise. I'm going to go dress for work."

"_Who the fuck is falling in love?_ You can't be serious! In lust, _in fuck would be nice_, but you're making a mountain out of a molehill here…"

"_Riiiiight_… and before you get pissed at yourself and take it out on me, I'm going to point out a few things and then lay low for the rest of the night. 1- I dare you to lie to me and tell me that you didn't have any fun with whatever you two were talking about last night when you took her home or when you talked to her earlier. 2- Last night, HE was just as happy to see HER as vice versa. He felt so strongly about her, that he tipped you some 'get Sookie' info… and 3- Sookie told me that the worst thing about what happened last night was that she hadn't realized how much you love her until she woke up without their bond… Whether you're merely in 'fuck' with her right now or not, eventually you'll be in love with Sookie Stackhouse. She's already responsible for that stupid grin you're wearing and it only took them two weeks."

Before I had the chance to respond, not that it would've equated as much more eloquent than a 'mind your own fucking business', she was gone to 'lay low'… and I spent more than a few minutes irritated enough with my child to email Uncle Bob's Self Storage to cancel one of her rentals and tell them to auction the contents… But by the time I was done typing, I realized that Sookie was getting closer to Shreveport and I was already smiling.

Fuck Pam.

I was shuffling papers, making some progress with keeping orders and invoices from collecting dust, when I realized that Sookie had arrived. The bar had only just opened, so I blamed Pam for the delay in Sookie's appearance in my office. I wasn't going to go looking for her.

I'd stayed at my desk, only slightly distracted by what they could possibly be talking about, but after another half an hour I'd completely exhausted the stack of mail and all of my personal business matters… If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Pam was keeping Sookie on purpose. _I definitely_ wasn't going to go looking for Sookie.

After filling the schedule for the next week since we'd be in New Orleans, I found myself staring at the hideous sofa that would soon be gone and remembered what Sookie had looked like sprawled out on it the night before… and started scrutinizing her emotions…

She was in better humor than she had been earlier. I could actually hear her occasional laughter through the door of my office and over the growing horde of vermin. Strangely, even in her fun, she was set on something. Driven… she had purpose… _She was already 'practicing'_.

Even though I wasn't 'looking' for her, I still needed to make an appearance on the floor. As I reached to open the door I was suddenly aware that Sookie was getting further away from me…

_She was leaving?_

She'd only been there for an hour.

"Where did she go?" Speaking to the back of Pam's head was always easier at Fangtasia considering how pissy she looked when she wore latex 'for show'.

Pam shrugged and bothered trying to hide how amused she was. "Home. She said that she didn't want to bother you while you were busy."

"Why didn't you just show her back to my office instead of letting her think I was busy?"

"She didn't really give me the chance. She stood here at the door with me for a few minutes and bounced a couple of undesirables out of the line… Then all of a sudden she announced that 'it' was easier than she thought and told me to tell you she said 'thanks again' and 'hi'."

"Nothing happened? She just left?"

"One of the fangbangers mentioned getting another crack at you, but that's no different than any other night."

"Except we don't usually have a mind reader on hand who might hear… FUCK!"

I was already half way back to my office when Pam asked me why I'd care what Sookie heard…

It seemed like it took forever for her voicemail to pick up.

"Hey, it's Sookie. You got my voicemail. If this is Sam and you need me to work, call the house 'cause Gran'll know where I'm at. If this is Gran, call Merlotte's. Sam doesn't mind when _you_ call me. Everyone else, just leave a message. There's no telling why I didn't pick up. Could be anything from I'm in the bath to I can't hear my ringer over the radio or vacuum. You know what to do at the beep. Bye."

Amusingly verbose as her outgoing message was, I hung up… I had no fucking clue of what to say. Since I couldn't be sure of why she left in the first place, I had no starting point for talking her into coming back.

Fuck.

And as though my disappointment wasn't enough of a pain in my ass, it seemed that the more pissed I was for any given reason, the more the livestock craved attention. Pam had the gall to blame me, stating that our horribly morbid attire wasn't the only part of the spectacle that the tourists expected. A seething fangy vampire was 'sexier' than one smiling like a used car salesman… She might have had a point, but it wasn't any less irksome. It did make its way into my fantasy plans for closing the bar though… The fangbangers who didn't gravitate towards Weres, could probably be 'turned off' by happy hour and friendly service from perky co-eds.

I had a fleeting moment, hoping that Sookie was the reason for my phone to be ringing… Unfortunately it was Andre calling to inform me that our travel arrangements had been made for tomorrow as I expected. The good news portion of that phone call was that the 'flowers' were already en route to Shreveport.

Other than that… I was trying to score the heated debate running through my mind. Go out to Bon Temps vs. stand my ground. Standing my ground wasn't making much of a showing… Not only did I want to go talk to Sookie, Andre's call gave me an excuse that would keep Pam from irritating me about it.

Since every bit of actual work was out of the way, I decided that Bon Temps tipped the scales and once I was done putting on the required show for the cattle, I'd be heading out to greener pastures.

The customers were offering even less entertainment than usual… They were all too pathetic to laugh at, fuck or feed from… even if I had the 'hankering' for fast food… the bagged blood I had at home didn't even get my attention. After tasting Sookie last night, it wouldn't have been good enough anyway.

When Pam took her nightly 'quickie' to the back room, I decided that I'd waited long enough… As soon as she was done with 'dinner' I'd leave.

I felt like I'd been thrown a life raft when I heard her step onto the platform behind my seat…

"I don't have to tell you how fucking annoying these assholes are tonight. I'm either leaving or staking myself on a chair leg."

"But I just got here." Sookie's giggle directly in my ear suddenly drowned out every other noise.

I didn't have anything to say that wouldn't give me away as being happy to see she'd come back and turning to look at her made me wish I had told her to wear jeans and a t-shirt. The black cocktail dress she was wearing was going to torture me all night. She was nearly spilling out of the top and the skirt was so short that it was only a matter of time before I'd get to see her "_Pink panties?_"

She narrowed her eyes at me. "You have a one track mind."

"Only recently. I thought you'd decided to go home."

She was confused instantly. "No… After you called, Pam did. When I told her that I was trying to find something to wear, she said she'd grab a few of her things for me to try. I went to the diner down the street to grab dinner and change. She told me that… _She told you I left_."

"Yes she did." I was going to kill her.

Sookie giggled. "Have you been pouting?" _Yes._

"No. I've been annoyed that I might have to go out to Bon Temp to let you know about our travel plans though."

"Was it like you thought? Tomorrow?"

"The plane will be waiting for us at sunset."

"A plane will be waiting?"

"The queen is sending her private plane."

"Ummmm… Wow."

"We'll have even more room than I thought since Pam will be walking."

"You'd make her walk all the way there?"

"After her little trick, absolutely."

She stared at me for a minute before she squatted modestly next to my legs to look up at me, grinning devilishly… "I didn't want to be stuck in the middle…"

"I didn't have any parts that. She…"

She shook her head and leaned forward. "Where is she?"

"In the back, feeding."

"Can you fake getting pissed? I mean, with her?"

"Yes." I wouldn't necessarily be faking though.

"I'm going to go wait in my car… storm out bitching about how you can't get in touch with me to let me know about New Orleans… Once you're 'gone', I'll come back and give her grief about letting you leave and play it up on my end… How long would it take you to get to Bon Temps?"

"If I fly, 20 minutes."

"I'll call my friend Lafayette and get him to call here to complain about a big scary vampire trashing Merlotte's looking for me." _Beautiful_.

I'd have laughed if I could have risked spoiling Pam's payback. "Go on then… I'll be back here in under an hour. No waiting tables though. I was warned that you'd get bored and try to keep yourself busy."

She giggled and patted my knee as she left the stage. "I promise."

When Pam came back from feeding, she found me listening to Sookie's voicemail message as part of the production and realizing that she needed to change it since her grandmother was still mentioned.

"What's got you so pissed?"

"My new pet."

She snorted out a laugh. "What about her?"

"Knowing that we have a trip to deal with, not only did the stupid little bitch not bother herself with making a genuine appearance so that she could get some much needed practice, but now she isn't answering her phone so that I can tell her to be at the airfield at sunset… You've had your fill?"

"Yes. Why?"

I got up and started for the back door.

"Eric? Where are you going?" The panic in her voice was _so satisfying_…

"My pet seems to need a lesson in answering when I call. I'll talk to you later."

"Eric, wait!"

"I don't have time for this, Pam. She needs to learn that I'm serious. If she keeps this shit up, I'll just turn her and be done with the games."

"But Eric…!"

I let the door close behind me since slamming it would have had me waiting for a locksmith _again_.

Sookie was waiting in her car parked next to mine. She looked up from her paperback with raised eyebrows and a curious grin. "She buy it?"

I nodded and rested my elbows on the edge of her window. "She's panicking… If you want to have some extra fun, I told her that I'd turn you so that you wouldn't be able to be so stubborn. Surely one of the fangbangers heard me so that you could claim you heard them thinking about the 'threat'."

She threw her head back when she laughed and I caught myself mesmerized by the movement. "You're evil!"

"This was your plot. I'm but an actor in your direction."

"But how I am I supposed to resist 'freaking out' about the idea of being turned!?" She started laughing again when my phone began to ring. "…You should get out of here so that she can feel you getting farther away."

I shrugged. "She's too busy 'freaking out' over the idea of me doing something drastic and temperamental. She doesn't realize that I've practically blocked her off."

She was still giggling when her phone started to ring once mine stopped.

"Since I have a minute… is the snow suit in your trunk?"

"_I wore jeans_ because Pam was going to bring something for me."

"Pity… so, to be clear, does your bra match said pink panties with the little black ribbons?"

She gave my arms a push. "_Get out of here_."

"You can't uninvite me from a parking lot, Sookie."

"Then how do I get you to get on with things? Time's a'wastin' and I still need to practice."

"Kiss me."

"You're serious?"

"For luck of course. So much could go wrong while I'm flying here and there and I'm not sure of this Lafayette fellow. Is he reliable?"

"_Oh, for God sakes_!" She grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me through the window enough to barely kiss my lips. "There. You've been kissed for luck. Now go on."

"That wasn't…"

She put her finger over my mouth to quiet me and it worked, but only because it made me want to stay and see what else she'd let me taste. "_Eh!_ You said that you'd go if I kissed you. You didn't specify what kind of kiss. You've been kissed. Go on. We had a deal."

I finally backed away from her car. "I suppose you'll need to get into character… But I'll be showing you what I meant when I get back."

I watched the suspenseful look on her face as I went into the air. Nothing about how she felt made me think she'd be contrary either.

_Something to look forward to._


	2. Chapter 2

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 2**

**How Do You Get To Carnegie Hall?**

While I was on my pretense of a trip out to Bon Temps, I took plenty of enjoyment from feeling Sookie's excitement and mischief… And Pam's complete horror that could only have been her reaction to whatever Lafayette had reported…

For fun, I decided to stop at Merlotte's… I actually went in despite how disgusting even the parking lot smelled.

A waitress approached me; knobby knees and padded tits under a head full of red hair that doesn't occur _anywhere_ in nature. "Sookie's not here tonight either, mister. Sorry." It hadn't occurred to me that 'I' might've already been to Merlotte's.

"I'm actually here to see Lafayette tonight."

"Oh… alright. He's in the kitchen."

"Tell me, is there a way to buy a Merlotte's shirt as a souvenir?"

I almost laughed at the face she made. She was clearly puzzled as to why anyone would want one. "Yeah, what size do ya need?"

"A small. It's a gift for a friend."

"Alright… I'll go dig one out for ya."

I thanked her (best behavior and all) as she dove behind the bar to find a shirt and went over to the pass to look for Sookie's accomplice. "Lafayette?" There were two men visible through the window to the kitchen. One was heavily scared and smelled of sweat and antidepressants; the other was wearing a tiger print leotard and smelled of Chanel No 5 and ecstasy.

"Even if I wasn't, I would be for you, pretty boy. How you doin?" _The leotard won with 'pretty __**boy'**__._

"I was wondering what you and Sookie cooked up. Whatever it was has worked well." Pam was panicking more than she ever had and she was still trying to call me every few minutes.

He started laughing. "I said that there was some vampire in the bar saying Sookie was his. That he offered everyone a thousand dollars to track Sookie down and bring her to you after you upended the pool table and threw the cash register through the front window. Half the folks were out trying to find Sookie, the other half was making stakes. The guy on the phone didn't seem to care all that much. You sure it worked?"

"He wouldn't… It was who would be listening that it's working on. Well done."

"Who are we playing the joke on?"

"My partner. She used Sookie to play a trick on me earlier. This is her comeuppance."

"Is she going to be coming out here?"

"She's already on the way. She'll be here in about half an hour to 'talk some sense into me'."

"What do we do when she gets here?"

"If you have a pen and paper, you could just deliver a message."

"She a vampire too? Am I gonna be safe?"

"She'll behave."

He nodded, not seeming too concerned with what my answer had been and exited through the rear of the kitchen…

By the time Lafayette had made his way back to me, the waitress had found an adult medium and a child's large… Even if I had to question Merlotte's logic behind his overconfident marketing, I opted for the child's large… it was more likely to 'ruin' Pam's hair when she put it on.

Lafayette laughed over my shoulder while I wrote the message out to Pam.

"I win.  
Enjoy your new uniform.  
It's either wear the shirt tonight or go barefoot for a month.  
See you back at Fangtasia.  
Love, E."

Lafayette snorted, "I'd rather go barefoot… _And I work here_."

"You wouldn't rather go barefoot if you knew me better."

"Aw… how bad would you do her?"

"You'd be surprised how many foot fetishists there are in Shreveport and how easily I could get them to congregate on Pam's lawn."

By the time I returned to Shreveport, Pam was practically in Bon Temps… I'd have nearly an hour to enjoy her mood before she started snarling at me… Since that was about how long she'd let me think Sookie had left, it was perfect.

Sookie was wearing a pleased smile while she filled glasses behind the bar and seemed to be getting friendly with Long Shadow's replacement…

I snuck up behind her and pulled her against me to speak into her ear. "You promised that you wouldn't waitress."

"This isn't waitressing. This is bartending. Ask Chow. I haven't delivered a single drink… I'm practicing."

"Explain how this is practicing."

"I'm just keeping my eyes on the crowd and when I see someone looking for their waitress, I focus on their thoughts. For the most part, I've just been telling Chow what to make before the waitress even takes the order." Chow offered a nod to verify her claim.

"And how are you holding up?"

"_Pretty good actually…_ The first night I came in here, I had a headache by the time we all left. I'm not even tired from keeping my shields up."

"Excellent. You've heard that you'll most likely be tested from the moment we're off the plane, yes?"

She nodded, but became quiet for a moment as she rested her hands over where mine held her hips. She practically felt asleep; calm, almost meditative… She finally sighed, "_That's just awesome_."

"What is?"

She turned just enough to face me, but never broke contact. "I can almost… it's like I can use your mind, concentrating on it, to funnel specific thoughts… like I can turn the rest of them down and only listen to the one I want to."

"Can you turn them all 'off'?"

I waited, but another smile gave her away… with her eyes closed as they were she looked like a blissfully dreaming child. "Is it you? Did they know? Did he mention it?"

"Unfortunately, I was given the Reader's Digest version. I could have Bill brought out. You could test…"

"No. I don't want to see him again." _While hearing that was fairly liberating for some reason…_

''Are you sure. It will most likely be your last chance."

"I'm not sure what you got told, but… he took so much from me that I think I'd regret seeing him again more. I'm done."

"What are you drinking then?"

"You aren't going to argue with me about it?"

"Why would I?"

She shrugged and broke away to start filling a glass with ice. "I don't know… I'm just used to everyone acting like they know what's best for me."

"Ah, well, in addition to the fact that I _have_ been informed of Compton's list of betrayals, I'm smart enough to not encourage you to share what could become a sympathetic moment with someone I'm not going to lose any figurative sleep over since he was grotesquely in my way."

"But you'd let me see him if I wanted to, even if it wasn't in your best interest?"

"Something tells me that battles should be carefully chosen with you… If you wanted to see him, you'd see him. He'd most likely be dressed like Pricilla, Queen of the Desert though."

She giggled and as soon as her glass was filled, she snaked her arm around mine. "Now I'm half tempted. Seeing him in feathers could be therapeutic."

Sliding into the booth was no different. As soon as she decided that I was settled, her arm went back around mine.

"Is this ok? I mean… around people?"

"My area. My rules. Are you really able to block out _everyone_ this way?"

She laughed through her nose. "Yeah. You might have a hard time getting rid of me now that I know. _This is freakin' amazing_."

I couldn't help but chuckle in spite of feeling her sincerity. "So you don't remember a time when you weren't a telepath."

"Nope. Gran told me that I was about 2 when they started suspecting I was different."

"It might be better that way. Since you don't have any concept of quiet, you can't miss it."

"I guess you're right about that… So… Before Pam gets back…"

"How _did_ that go? She was more deranged than when she was a new vampire."

"I finished reading my chapter after you left. When I came in, she headed me off. Her fangs were out and everything. Why wasn't I answering my phone and the rest of the interrogation I expected… I told her that I forget it all the time because no one ever calls me. I let her pace and snarl and try to call you again and while she was letting the phone ring, I flipped my lid about being turned. Ginger was 'helping me' through hyperventilating when Lafayette called to report Hurricane Eric. She took off like a shot after she told me not to leave and put Chow in charge of me. She was cussing about you putting a bounty on my head…"

There was no point in fighting the smile I was wearing. "She _**really**_ hates me right now."

"I bet…The best part… we waited a few minutes. Once I explained to Chow what was going on, he called her and said that I'd gotten away. I 'bit him' to break free and he wasn't sure how to subdue me and not make you angrier."

I enjoyed my first hearty laugh in years. "I like being right. _Sookie, this __**is**__ more fun with your help_."

She tried to groan even though she was snickering. "Yeah, well, I guess it's a good thing I'm about to sign a contract with the queen. She can't get but so carried away getting back at me."

"I'll just order her to leave you alone."

She gasped, "Don't you dare! There's no fun _**or fairness**_ in that! No. I'm a lot of things, but chicken isn't on the list. I made my bed. I'll lay in it." _Admirable_. She'd probably regret it, but still admirable that she wouldn't take an easy way out.

"Let me know if you change your mind… Are you practicing or socializing?"

"I was doing plenty of practicing until this vampire started pawing at me…"

"Who?"

She tugged at my arm when I acted as though I was going to get up to find her 'molester'. "You!"

"I wasn't 'pawing'."

"You pawed."

"I don't paw."

"What would you call it?"

"I'm not sure. It wasn't _pawing_…"

"Groping?"

"Oh, I certainly didn't _grope_ you. You'd know if I groped you."

She stared at me, our rapid exchange suddenly halted and I loved every bit of her frustration.

"Your turn."

She rolled her eyes and began scanning the crowd. "I'm just gonna practice."

"You gave up?"

"I didn't… Yeah. I gave up."

Conversation may have stopped, but my fun wasn't over… She was getting more and more flustered, so I waited.

"I can't think of anymore synonyms for paw that … _Hell, you managed to make a snowsuit dirty!_" Fondle, pet, stroke, caress, handle, rub, squeeze, toy… demonstrating them all would make for one hell of an evening.

"If you find yourself in possession of a snowsuit, I _can_ help you get it dirty, but you're the one that was describing one so suggestively to a naked vampire while he was still in bed."

She scoffed as she shook her head. "That right there is what I was talking about."

"I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"Yes you do. You were the one asking me what I was wearing…"

"If I remember correctly, you asked me as well. At least I gave you an honest answer instead of lying about an enticing little fur-lined parcel with a sweet Sookie filling. _You should be ashamed of yourself_."

"You're the one advertising that you were naked."

I leaned over to her ear, "What were you really wearing, Sookie?"

Her cheeks flushed so quickly that I could feel their heat before I felt her embarrassment.

"Were you… _naked_?"

"No." Her eyes were clasped shut.

"Then what exactly has you so agitated since you were neither nude, nor wearing an alluring little snowsuit?"

She cleared her throat and let go of my arm to straighten her dress restlessly. "I'd gotten as far as my underwear before I started getting pissed about my clothes."

Suddenly how strangely light my arm felt from being released wasn't nagging me. The thought of her stomping around in her tiny house in nothing more than 'pale pink with black ribbons' was all there was for a moment… fuck. "So… when I called, you were pacing in your bra and panties?"

She cringed slightly and elbowed me. "I put my robe on when I thought that you could see me though."

I chuckled at her modesty. "How very humble of you considering I've already seen you topless."

The way her mouth fell open was comical. She had no idea of how to respond.

I leaned over to her ear again. "The vest 'you' were wearing last night only had 2 buttons…" She started leaning away slightly so I put my hand on her knee. "…I only felt the panties 'you' were wearing though…" She held her breath as my hand slid up her smooth, hot thigh. "…But the style made it easy to push them aside…" I stretched my thumb over the top over her leg under the hem of her dress to kneed into her, enjoying the way her held breath finally fell over my neck. "…Tell me, are you wearing a g-string again, Sookie?"

Her trembling hand rested on mine. She wasn't at all scared though… "Yes… Eric stop." Fuck.

I lifted my face to look at her. "Because you need to practice?"

"No… Because I'm getting tested."

The idea that the queen might have thought so far ahead had nothing to do with how much I still wanted to slide my thumb under Sookie's panties. "How so?"

"Three 'fangbangers' just came in. One of them has a really clear picture of a tall young blond guy telling them 'under no circumstances are you to say anything about who you are, where you're from or who sent you. Your task is to observe only. We want to hear rumors about Sookie and the sheriff. If someone approaches you, tell them that you're lost'. They all answered 'yes, Andre'… Eric, it was a glamour. I can feel it."

"You can tell they were sent under glamour?"

She was biting her lip as she nodded. "I couldn't get that from Ginger before. I could tell that she'd been Glamoured, but not what was underneath it."

"Interesting development, yes?"

"What do we do? Wait… the 'flowers' are on the way too… they stopped for tamales at a truck-stop near Alexandria. They shouldn't be far behind."

"Don't worry about them. They are completely benign as far as you're concerned."

"Do I say something to the lab rats?"

I began to pull away from her but she held my hand in place. "What are they thinking?"

She closed her eyes to concentrate and since she seemed content for my hand to stay where it was, I pulled her closer to me. "Uh… one of them just spotted you. She's… wow, that's all kinds of weird."

"What's weird?"

"Well, not only am I seeing us from over there because she's watching… she's thinking about joining us. _Joining us_, joining us. Ew."

I turned around to see the urchin standing near the bar. "Don't even think about it, slag."

When I turned back to Sookie, the corner of her mouth turned up. "That didn't help… Now she's just picturing me out of the scenario… _switching to another one_…"

I watched every feature of her face while she 'listened', thankful that her eyes were closed so that she wouldn't feel self-conscious… I was still too curious about her ability. Even knowing that she wasn't just human didn't change the fact that I'd never come across anyone like her… 'Unique' was a word I could define and translate a dozen different ways, but I hadn't _used_ it without sarcasm in roughly 900 years… But there I was, with my hand on the supple thigh of the most 'unique' being I'd ever encountered, waiting for her to share someone else's thoughts.

"…The guy… he's hoping to meet someone too… He was supposed to see Waldo tonight… Do you know a Waldo?"

"He's one of the queen's children."

"Well, Waldo's what Lafayette would call a 'bottom' with guys, but not with women… he makes them cry because he likes their tears."

"He's one of the most demented vampires I've ever come across. He's the one they mentioned last night. The one who's jealous of your cousin."

Her face contorted in disgust. "Ok… Is the fact that he keeps large dogs for sex parties good enough that I can get out of this guy's head? I'm going to have nightmares. That guy is actually upset that he's missing out."

"Do you know what breed?"

"Ew. Seriously?"

"A detail that neither of us would know."

She shuddered. "I want to say Mastiff. Big, like a Saint Bernard with short hair. Blonde with a black face."

"That should be more than enough."

She mumbled 'thank God' and gave my hand a squeeze as she seemingly moved on to the third test subject. She gave a relieved smile as she started. "The other girl, not slag…"

"They're all slag."

"The one you _didn't_ call slag… she's looking for Pam. She remembers her from a visit y'all made. Early February, I guess. Still pretty chilly. I guess her head isn't all that helpful… except Andre fed from her before they left. The back of her hip… and then he told her to change her nail polish because purple was too good for her."

"That was certainly Andre." _Vainglorious prick._

"She painted them pink during the drive though. So I guess that's something…" She opened her eyes, surprised that she had such a captivated audience. "…I tried the other one again, but she's still thinking about you… Were you watching me the whole time?"

"You watched me fly."

"That was different… Ok, never mind. _I guess it is the same thing_… so, what to do?"

"I think that we should go back to my office and continue our conversation about your panties."

She closed her eyes and laughed through her nose as she rested her forehead on my shoulder. "You're horrible. I was talking about my test and you know it."

"I think that since Gladiola and Diantha will be here shortly we should wait for them to arrive because they will most likely be a continuation of your screening… We'll call Andre when they leave."

"_We? What do you need me for?"_

"He isn't testing _me_, Sookie. In the meantime, you might want to consider randomly searching through minds. They might not be the only ones he sent."

"Just in case, or… _you'd_ have sent more."

"I'd have sent no less than 2 more. Singles."

"Because they'd be easier to lose in a crowd…"

"And I'd be willing to bet that they'll be the ones who know what you look like so that they can report back about whether you were even here."

"Assuming Hadley had any pictures of me… We don't look anything alike."

"I think you're forgetting that Bill has had access to you and your home for a while now."

She huffed, "_That asshole_. He 'tidied up' my house for me while I was in the hospital."

"I'm sure."

"You know, I never uninvited you. Did _you_ go to my house and sniff around while you were in the area?"

"No. I wanted to come back to do my sniffing." I quickly buried my face in the side of her neck and while she laughed that I was tickling her, I gave myself a minute to get lost in her scent.

_She really_ _did_ smell like sunshine… Not her soaps… _Her_. Under the smell of orange blossoms from Pam's closets, under the small amount of her lemongrass body wash, under the ambient scent of the bar… she smelled as though she had absorbed the day's sunlight…

She was overpowering.

When I sat away from her, I gave her a simple wink. Anything else would've exposed that my fangs were down and my mood had shifted.

Thankfully, Sookie took my sudden silence as a signal to start her search… The last time she'd seen me with my fangs down, she practically ran from the building. Now that she was so close, reliving that wasn't on my agenda.

As she wrapped her arm around mine again, she moved my hand to rest more innocently on her knee and she was quite proud of herself to find not two, but four other test subjects over the next half hour.

The first of them was a thin boy from the palace donor pool that she nicknamed Ichabod even though she'd taken that his name was Joel. He'd been given the same orders as the threesome, but Hadley had been the one to give them and she'd been wearing a green dress and gold hoop earrings when she did so. Sookie even took a moment to mention that she was happy to see that Hadley looked better than the last time she'd seen her.

The next earned a genuine gag and a shudder. A squat, bushy man with a pinky ring… Walt. His marching orders had come from Waldo… He was a dog breeder… Mastiffs.

The third and fourth were Frieda and Tim. I'd recognized Frieda as being Sophie-Ann's chamber maid, but I opted to let things play out… Sookie discerned that Frieda and her husband were excited to be on the errand since they hadn't expected to be able to attend her nieces wedding… Sophie-Ann had offered to give her the time off with pay in exchange for stopping at Fangtasia and having a few drinks. Sookie recovered from Walt's depraved thoughts with a giggle over the fact that Frieda was hoping that Hadley wouldn't trash the queen's chambers while she wasn't there to keep up with things.

The only thing to break the rightfully proud smile from Sookie's lips was that Pam returned to Fangtasia in a blur, sitting directly across from us so suddenly that she'd startled Sookie.

Sookie hid her face behind my shoulder, giggling against it as Pam glared at me, wearing the obscenely tight Merlotte's souvenir. "I hate you."

"_What is that smell?_ Is that… _grease_? What happened to your hair? It was so nice earlier..."

"I hate you a lot."

"I'm not sure why. You chose the game."

"I hate you a whole lot."

"You'll get over it."

"I thought you'd really come unhinged!"

I finally started laughing. "I know. That's what makes it so funny."

Her foot darted into my shin under the table. I hadn't expected any different, but Sookie shrieked as though she'd been kicked.

Pam reached across the table. "Oh my lord! Sookie, I'm sorry! I meant to get him!"

It took a fraction of a second before I realized what Sookie was up to… The glare I gave Pam was an excuse to watch for her reaction.

Sookie finally stopped rubbing her 'injury' and looked up. "You did." She'd barely finished saying it before she was jokingly using my arm as a shield and laughing hysterically along with me.

"_I hate you both_."

Sookie shook her head. "No you don't. You're having fun… even though you need a bath."

Pam conceded by rolling her eyes. She wasn't even going to try to lie. "How the hell do you work there? It's wretched."

"It'll be interesting now that I notice… Y'all should've told me how bad it was. I might have suspected Bill earlier."

"_You're still_…? But the other you said that you started working _here_. That I call it the Telepathy Clinic."

Sookie shrugged. "Things were different for them. There's no guarantee that my contract will work out the same way or things will be like it was for them when they got back from New Orleans. I might not need to. There wouldn't be any point in me sitting here night after night…" _Other than giving me a distinct reason to not loathe the sight of the building…_

Sookie quickly lifted her face to make eye contact with me, feeling worried… and something I wasn't sure I could label... _She'd heard me again_.

Thankfully, Pam continued without noticing. "I didn't see your shifter while I was there. Have you spoken to him about time off for traveling?"

"No. I was putting that off. _He's not going to be happy_. I'm going to stop by on my way home."

"How long have you been out of work?"

"Five days now… It wouldn't be the time off though… It would be the reason… and how it is that I'm feeling up to traveling."

Pam ran her fangs out and pouted her lip. "D'awwww, does hims not wike us?"

Sookie snickered, "I don't think he _wikes_ other shifters. He's got plenty of vampire grudge though."

"Well, if he has any sense of smell at all, he'll be fit to be tied to smell both of us on you later."

Sookie shrugged and offered a sigh. "I don't think it'll make much difference. When he stopped by yesterday he made a remark about me having the sense to heal on my own."

I wasn't particularly fond of the idea that she'd be visiting him when she knew he'd be an asshole… "Perhaps you should call him instead. Let him believe that you're simply feeling 'better' and tending to family business."

"I got beat up by a serial killer this week. I think I can manage telling an old friend to let me live my life."

She'd been nearly raped and murdered by a serial killer and discovered that someone she trusted was using her in epic proportions… _why not argue with an 'old friend'_?

I was at a loss as to how to persuade against adding to her already complicated week, when we received company.

Diantha and Gladiola stood out in Fangtasia almost as much as Sookie had when I first laid eyes on her crisp white sundress…

It seemed as though they shared the goal of wearing every color in the rainbow while simultaneously representing all of the patterns… Pam had anonymously registered them for design school as well as clown college in recent years…

They both offered creepy grins. "Howyadoin, sheriff?"

"We're doing well. Did you enjoy your tamales?"

They looked at each other while Sookie giggled.

"Ladies, this is Sookie Stackhouse. Sookie, Diantha is the fashion criminal in green. Gladiola is in orange."

"It's 'dangerine'. How'dya know'bout the tamales?"

"Sookie picked it out of the minds of those three over there. They saw you when they stopped for gas."

They turned to look at the 'lab rats' before grinning and speaking to Sookie in unison. "Canya hearus?"

Sookie stared at them for a moment, then tilted her head in concentration… Finally, "No… It's like white noise… I can tell you're kinda hyper, maybe excited… _What are you?"_

Diantha led, "He'll explain. Cool power… Sheriff, gottajobtado."

I gave a nod in Pam's direction so that she could lead the little executioners to Bill. I was going to try to get some kind of confirmation about what their orders had been when Diantha asked for Bill's maker's name…

Sookie was more curious than suspicious as I had her follow me back to my office… but by the time the door was closed behind us, she was getting there.

"Are you sure that you don't have anything to say to Bill?"

She gasped, covering her mouth as she realized that Bill was done. "They aren't even going to take him to New Orleans?"

"No. It's not something I could've known for sure. It's not a subject that would be discussed over the phone."

"I don't… Eric I don't want to see him, but I don't want him dead. Not on my account."

"This isn't on your account, no more than a hammer gets credit for a well built house. He used you to betray the queen."

"Is that what I'm supposed to tell myself?"

"He didn't just fail to complete an errand for the queen. Sophie-Ann is very close to her children and his little play to control your power and lord it over her cost Hadley."

"Gran…"

"Not just your grandmother. Possibly your brother as well. While you don't seem to hold a grudge against vampires because you were wronged by one, your brother is blaming you and your association with us for her murder. What could've been a 'happy reunion' for her will most likely not remedy the melancholy that caused Sophie-Ann to send Bill in the first place."

"Do you really believe that she's homesick, Eric? Really? You didn't know her before. It's nice that she's not on drugs anymore and all, but…"

"Your telepathy is why Bill was sent back, but it's deeper than that. Sophie-Ann had the hopes that your family would be more accepting of her new state of being because of it. Staying in contact with family isn't something that has ever been possible for vampires. Couple that with her concerns for Hunter…"

"Who is Hunter? Sookie didn't say anything about him. We didn't get to it." _Fanfuckingtastic!_

"Hunter is… Hadley had a child."

"WHAT!?"

"He's currently being raised by his father, but he's beginning to show signs that he's a telepath as well. Sophie-Ann was hoping that Hadley's mother would be willing to raise the child since she'd have experience with your gift. The father is seemingly clueless."

She shook her head violently. "Vampires don't have babies!"

"She was still alive at the time. From what I understand, she was turned because of complications that she wouldn't have survived."

"Hadley's a mother."

I gave a nod, waiting for the idea to be absorbed.

"Hadley wanted her dead mother to raise her telepathic kid because she'd be better at it since I'm the same kind of freak."

"In a manner of speaking." I sure as hell wasn't going agree that she was a 'freak'.

"So… what? The Gran that's alive… the other Gran is raising Hunter?"

"No… you are."

"WHAT!?"

"When Hadley learned that her mother was dead, she decided to ask Sookie because of your grandmother's age."

"So she dumped her kid that she didn't want to deal with on Sookie!"

"You're yelling."

"I'm pissed!"

"At me?"

"NO! Hadley!"

"She can't hear you."

"I KNOW THAT!" I managed to fight the urge to laugh until it dawned on her that she was directing her frustrations at the wrong individual by offering a bashful apology…

"Like you said, things went differently for them. They might not ask the same of you and regardless, you can refuse just as she could have."

She paced for a moment before tossing herself on the couch and letting her arm fall over her face like 'she' had last night. "Isn't this just ducky."

"What is 'ducky'? Is that anything like peachy? I never understood that one either."

She managed to giggle. "Yes, as a matter of fact it's the same thing as peachy… I don't think I've ever said it and not been sarcastic though."

"I don't think I've ever heard it used any other way…" I slid my hands under her legs to sit down and then rested them over my own. "…'Kiss and tell' jokes aside, perhaps the three of us should discuss all of what we've learned… during the flight tomorrow?"

"Why? Did Hadley have triplets?"

"I'm surprised that the information about Hunter wasn't shared."

She blew out a deep breath. "I'm not. I wasn't exactly Miss Congeniality last night. Pam probably got more out of what Sookie was saying than I did… Hey, is it weird that she was so, I don't know, _on board_ last night… she seemed to be less thrown than either of us."

"It's _entirely_ unlike Pam to appear accommodating… ever."

She uncovered her face to slap my arm as she laughed. "So what do you think was going on with her?"

"I'm going to assume that she was just less awed by the situation because she wasn't looking at herself… What puzzles me is the way she took orders from her, but… we aren't finished discussing Bill…"

She growled, covering her face again. "Why not?"

"You've had a substantial amount of his blood… granted, it was more than two weeks ago, but there is a possibility that his end could affect you."

She suddenly sat up and slid herself to the other end of the couch. "_**NUH-UH!**_"

I nodded. "It's possible. I'm hoping that since you weren't bonded that it'll be less noticeable for you."

"What are we talking about here? Like physical pain?"

"I've seen a pet collapse, but he'd been bonded to the vampire."

"Oh, _COME ON_!"

"Distance could help. Would you like to be taken home?"

"No! I want him to stop shitting in my punch bowl!"

"I hope you're proud of yourself. You've just disgusted and confused me with the same statement."

She leaned forward to bat at my chest, biting her lip in an effort to not laugh. "This isn't even close to a laughing matter."

"You could be unaffected, but I didn't want for you to be unprepared for it. What would you like to do?"

She stared at me for a moment. The only way to describe her expression would be to say she was grimacing… her feeling: dismal. "There's not really anything to do… nothing but wait, huh?"

"It shouldn't be long. Care for a game of strip poker?"

"Why not?"

"Really?"

She giggled and kicked my leg. "No. Not really. Pervert."

After 20 minutes of awkard start and stop conversation including an explination of Daemons, I suggested that we establish an email account for her since we'd both been told how much corespondence had come in about particulars of her gift.

"I don't think so!" She laughed as she mashed my hands into the keyboard.

"Sookie, I don't see a problem. What's wrong with 'ericssexslave' as an address?"

"The same thing that was wrong with 'sookieatyourservice', 'petofthedamned' and 'fuckablyfeistyfaerie'."

I smirked at her. "The last one's my favorite." I went back to typing.

"I'm sure it is..."

"How about something painfully blasé like 'area5telepath'? It's available."

She laughed and pushed the enter button on her own. "I'm not giving you the chance to squeeze anything else into that."

"Are you accusing me of something?"

"Being sneaky enough to add 'erics' to that."

"I'm the victim of shameless teasing, yet I'm being slandered."

"I'm not a..." She stopped suddenly. Her smile and color drained from her face and her shoulders lurched, making her back arch so violently that if I hadn't been looking at her when it happened I might not have noticed in time to catch her.

She winced as I carried her to the couch. "It's not… it's kinda like a Charlie horse… Not that bad really. Just sudden."

"Charlie horse?" The idea that she still had it in her to talk was reassuring.

She leaned forward, rolling her shoulders as though she was working out a kink and rested her head on her knees. "Yeah… you had to have a couple when you were alive, everybody does… that leg cramp that wakes you up… it's already easing up."

I sat next to her and found myself rubbing her back… I might have been annoyed at how natural it felt if she hadn't distracted me by humming. "We get cramps when we don't feed, but I heard someone compare them to 'the bends' from experience, so I doubt it's the same thing."

"No… I've seen a documentary where someone had the bends… that's much worse than a Charlie horse. That has to suck."

"I've only had the problem a couple of times. It's a lesson that's not hard to remember. It's the reason for pets… A traveling food source."

She chuckled into her knees. "Hot Pockets."

"What is that?"

"It's a frozen food… a _portable_ food… You make humans sound like Hot Pockets."

"They tend to be…"

"Except we aren't just food. Y'all have sex with humans too."

"Is that an offer?"

She swayed to bump her body against mine. "Ha-ha, I'm not exactly human."

"I won't hold that against you."

She giggled as she sat up. "How very magnanimous of you."

"I try… feeling better?"

Her eyes rolled around while she seemed to be evaluating herself. "Yeah… all better. Glad I wasn't driving home when that happened. Thanks."

"Speaking of driving home… I suppose you should be on your way soon… You have packing to do and a shifter to notify."

"You don't want me to, do you?"

"Feel free to spend the rest of the night with me and then traipse around New Orleans in the nude if you like."

"I meant Sam. You don't want me to stop and see Sam, do you?"

"Not particularly. I think that given what I know of the other Merlotte's reaction and what you've already been through… I don't think you should have to burden yourself with the stress of his kneejerk reaction. Speaking to him in person would prove to him that you aren't 'smart enough to heal on your own' and that you've started keeping questionable company."

"Alright."

"Alright?" _There had to be a catch._

"Yeah… I'll call him instead. Be vague… I'll wait until we're back to give him the full story."

"Just because I suggested it?"

She shrugged. "No… Because your reasons make sense. We should go ahead and call this Andre cat, right? Get it over with."

After letting him know that the 'flowers' had arrived safely, I informed him that Sookie wanted to have a few words with him…

She cleared her throat, nervous about her performance… After the tone of the call 'she' had made the night before, being timid wouldn't bode well.

"Evening, Andre."

"Miss Stackhouse."

"So… How many got sent?"

"Excuse me?"

"Eric and I have been calling them 'lab rats'… you sent some folks to test me."

"Did I?"

Sookie rolled her eyes. "I found seven humans… Thanks to 'the flowers' I can identify them now, but… I'll explain them later if that's ok. I hadn't come across _their kind_ before… and I'm pretty sure that you sent a couple of Weres that didn't make it past the bouncers... they're harder for me to read though."

"Tell me of the humans."

"Frieda, Tim, Walt, Joel, Laura, Jill and Brad… Frieda and Tim were here for their niece's wedding. They bought her a place setting and crystal decanter set. Walt is disgusting and needs to be reported to the ASPCA. 'Nuff said. Joel didn't really have the money to drive all the way up here, but didn't argue with Hadley for asking… And someone really needs to tell her that the shade of green she was wearing makes her look like crap. Since Laura isn't good enough for purple, she changed her polish in the car ride… Jill spent the whole time drooling over Eric… and I don't want to talk about Brad anymore than I do Walt… But I would like to hear about a Mastiff attack in New Orleans. Poor dogs."

"I see. Is there anything else?"

"You look much better in the blue shirt you're wearing tonight than you did in the red one you wore last night. The color and the fit."

"Ummm. Thank you?" Hearing Andre 'stumped' was worth throwing a party.

"Yes sir. So… I was wondering… are we gonna _**meet**_ meet tomorrow night or…"

"We're having the car bring you directly to us. Why?"

"Ok… I was just… I was thinking that we might be able to save some time if you gather your donors in the 'dining room'… I can look for your spies and whatnot since you'll be testing me anyway."

"You're too cheeky for your own good."

"No sir, I'm just trying to be practical. You have another state trying to murder your maker and there's another vampire waiting for the chance to kill my cousin. I don't like the sound of that."

"Your loyalty to the queen is impressive. I suppose we have Hadley to thank for that."

"No sir. All due respect, Hadley turned her back on her family a long time ago. I'm looking forward to seeing her again, but make no mistake about it, _**Eric's**_ loyalties are my loyalties." Oh, wow… 'he' was right about how impressive of a show she put on… She didn't even seem to need time to fabricate her answer… full character.

"Very well then. If that'll be all."

"Yes sir."

"Thank you, Miss Stackhouse."

As soon as I heard him hang up the phone, I celebrated with an idiotic laugh. I couldn't help myself. "THAT. WAS. PERFECT!"

"Really?_ Even the bit about loyalty?_"

"_Especially that!_ They'll consider you attached to me. Being indifferent might have made your location seem indefinite."

Her head fell back and she let out a deep sigh as she fell back into the chair. "_Thank GOD! That was so nerve-wracking_!"

"I could tell, but you surprised us both. I'm proud of you."

"I need a stiff drink."

"Terribly sorry to hear that. You need to get home safely first… Unless of course you'd like to just…"

She stood up quickly shaking her head and groaning. "Sorry… I forgot my snowsuit."

"I'll settle for the pink panties you've wanted to show me all evening."

She gasped. "I have not…!" When she spun around to head for the door, her dress finally gave me a peek.

I couldn't have planned it better.

Even though I needed to turn off my computer and get my keys, I still managed to catch up to her before she opened her car door.

"I think you're forgetting something."

"I don't think so… I've done bonus work tonight… Not only did I get my practicing done, but we messed with Pam, and I passed a test… oh, yeah… and I felt a vampire execution… and I still have a 'shifter to notify' after a long drive."

I stepped closer, almost pinning her against her car. I wanted to, but managed to resist… "I told you before I left for Bon Temps that I'd get the kiss I wanted."

"And then you took off into the night before I could argue with you."

"You weren't going to."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do… In fact, _I know_ that you're looking forward to it."

"Whatever. Go ahead then."

As much as I wanted to… Hell, 'as much as I wanted' consisted of pushing her back over the hood of her car and tasting every square inch of her fucking body right there in the parking lot… I didn't take the opportunity… I leaned over and kissed her… lightly, innocently… fucking idiotically… Just being so close to her was making me hard. Playing it safe had never made me feel so fucking stupid.

It was a chore to move away from her… and I waited until I was a few steps away to say anything else. "You know what else I know, Sookie?"

She was flushed, confused… "What?"

"I know how disappointed you are."

I laughed at her when she growled her way into her car.

She wasn't the only one… I could've gotten so much more than the kiss I took… Disappointed was an understatement.

As I packed my things I could feel how frustrated she was with our encounter and it was only about an hour after we separated that her mood shifted…

Her conversation with the shifter hadn't gone well if I had to make a guess based on how angry and miserable she became… I wanted to call her, out of curiosity to see if she'd changed her mind and seen him… but I was sure that she'd mistake it as being overbearing…

I probably would have called anyway if 'I' hadn't stressed how much I can trust her.

Packing hadn't taken nearly as much time as emailing Bobby with his list of Sookie related errands to run, and I was just settling into bed when my phone rang just before dawn.

"Do you miss me already?"

"I'm starting to like you."

"Good. What are you wearing?"

"Pajamas and yes, I'm in bed… Am I starting to like you because I've had your blood?"

"I doubt that."

"Then why?"

"Because I'm irresistible."

She giggled. "Seriously."

"I prefer to think that you're starting to 'like me' because you're not distracted by being told to be scared of me."

"Do you think it has anything to do with our visitors?"

"Yes… I think it has a lot to do with them."

She gave a long sigh. "This is really weird."

"Maybe… But when you start blaming my blood for your possible feelings for me, I want you to think about something."

"Ok. What?"

"Something made you trust me enough to drink my blood today."

"What makes you think it's trust. Maybe I was sick of being sore. Maybe I was afraid of what could happen in New Orleans. Maybe..."

"Sookie?"

"Yeah."

"You trust me. I can feel it."

"I'm glad you know… I'll see you tonight."

"What? You aren't going to describe what you're wearing?"

"Does it make a difference?"

"Of course it does. What kind of pajamas do you wear?"

"Normally I wear a nightgown, but… you know what, just picture me naked and call it done."

"Why don't you take a picture and send it to me."

"With what?"

"Doesn't your phone have a camera?"

"No. It's just a phone." _Oh, that would have to change._

"Pity."

"Yeah. Poor you. G'night."

I had just enough time to add to Bobby's list before dawn.


	3. Chapter 3

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 3**

**Best Behavior**

On any other night, I'd rise to nothing. With my maker being so far away and Pam being unable to rise as early, it was the only peace that I ever got.

I was clearly going to have an adjustment to make.

Sookie wasn't something that could be ignored in any sense, so it seemed.

Closer to Shreveport by the second, her angst and excitement were practically overwhelming… amusing, but intense enough to choke the metaphorical horse.

I found myself having to convince myself to complete my nightly routine…

Showering… I'd be able to enjoy her scent again soon enough, even if I was trying to overlook that I'd purposely not washed her away that morning.

Feeding… Hoping that there'd be a finer flavor than bagged A+ in my near future and doing my best to ignore that two drops from Sookie's finger had satisfied me more than the three sub-par pints that normally would've been one acceptable bag.

Dressing… Business attire wasn't something that annoyed me on Sookie's behalf, but it was still unfavorable in general… then again, with my arms covered, I'd be far less likely to enjoy Sookie's skin against mine. Either by accidental contact or during her attempts to 'use me' my sleeves would be an irksome barrier.

Last minute instructions for Bobby and Paulette were handled in a matter of a couple of short texts and that only left Fangtasia… Chow wouldn't have been available yet and talking to Ginger made me wonder why I hadn't just closed the bar while we were going to be gone. Chow was competent, but too new to have a normal routine and Ginger was… well, she was _Ginger_.

…All the while, Sookie's tension was growing and getting much closer…

I used her arrival as my excuse to hang up on Ginger in favor of more interesting (and less maddening) conversation.

"Hello?"

"Sookie, should I have had Bobby attain some sort of calming medication for you?"

She practically whimpered, "Probably."

"Have you already forgotten about how well your talk with Andre went?"

"Not as much as I'm realizing how much I've screwed up everything else. I'm going to need a bottle of liquor with a straw in it."

"I'm not sure that being drunk will help your case, but I'll make sure that there is something you can celebrate with waiting when your job is done."

"Celebrate, huh? Thank God one of us is confident things'll go ok."

"You'll do fine. I've never given a 'pep talk', but I could make you cum until you forget what you're so nervous about. Why don't you come inside so that I can…"

She snorted out a laugh. "_Oh, I don't think so_…I don't need to be that kind of drunk either… pervert."

"Do you mean cum drunk?"

She gasped, "Eric!"

"Sookie, are you starting without me? Trust me when I say that moaning my name _will feel more natural_."

She groaned and I could hear a quick pounding that I imagined could only have been her feet kicking in exasperation. "Is that all you think about?"

"No, but you're distracted… What are you wearing?" She was amused, but she was too stubborn to voice it.

"The outfit you had Bobby bring me."

"Do you like it?"

"It's pretty. Thanks. I'm a little surprised that it isn't backless or see-through though."

"It's not? I'll have to fire him."

She giggled and called me a 'butthead'.

"Save his job. Tell me that he was helpful today."

"_He really was_… It was sweet of you to have him help move all those boxes."

"Sweet? Me? That's absurd…"

"_Ohhhh_, hang on. Lemme guess… The stacks of boxes were in the way, right? They didn't fit into the plans you have for my bedroom? Am I warm?" _Perfectly and addictively warm._

"And you accuse me of having a 'one track mind'… I was simply thinking that with your new income, you'd benefit from a few charitable write-offs… _pervert_."

She cackled so fully that I could _feel_ her smile. "Nice how you turned that around on me. I'll let you go so that you can get ready."

"I packed before dawn. I'm waiting for the sun to set. We'll stop for Pam on our way to the airfield. You'll have me to yourself in the back of a limo for a few minutes."

"Oh, goody."

"Uh oh. _What do you have planned?_"

"I don't have anything planned."

"You intend to improvise?"

She huffed, "No…"

"You intend to submit?"

Slightly more exasperated, "_No…_"

"Pam only lives a few minutes from here. You won't have much time to tease me."

"I have no intentions of… I can't win, can I?"

"That depends on what you consider to be a victory. Screaming, howling, crying, losing consciousness?"

"Quiet."

"Oh, Sookie… _You've been doing it wrong_."

"That's not what I meant…"

"_**I meant**_… something as simple as a few well placed hums can push you to the edge of sanity…" With the sun fully set, I grabbed my bags and emerged from the house… She noticed instantly. She'd been watching, waiting.

"Eric…"

"Yes?"

"Behave."

"How?"

"Like a choir boy."

"Ok, but… _you're more my type than clergy_."

She giggled and hung up as I was putting my things into the trunk.

That smell.

_Her smell…_ I was fucked before I was ever in the limo. I had to wonder if she'd been told... If she'd done it purposefully... It was so much stronger than before...

It was as though...  
_It was as though she was producing the smell of sunlight...  
_I was practically frantic to get the window down... Not that I could take my eyes from her...  
Of all the times for Bobby to get something right... That asshole had managed to find exactly what I'd told him to. 'Something to display her cleavage and legs'. He'd done so well that Sookie might as well have been served on a plate.  
Even though I'd opted for sitting next to the open window, her scent was still too strong as the car moved through traffic...  
My willpower hadn't ever been so tested. Controlling the urge, _**list of urges**_, might have been easier if I'd been closer to a true Faerie.  
"Cat got your tongue?"  
My hopes of being able to ignore her for her own good were suddenly dashed when I noticed the expectant look on her face... There was no graceful way of covering that I'd missed everything she'd been saying. I watched the traffic light, practically willing it to turn green and shorten our drive as much as possible. "How did you spend your day?"  
Judging by her confusion, she'd already told me _or tried to_. "Uhhh, I woke up when Bobby got there. He spent a little while waiting for me to calm down about the security system guys. Do you really think I need an alarm system?"  
"Considering how fragile you are, it's a trivial safeguard I'd like for you to humor."  
She rolled her eyes. "If you say so... Anyway, while they measured for the new windows and whatnots, I repacked my things into the new luggage Bobby brought out. When they left, Bobby and I sorted through the last of the stuff and loaded up all the boxes to run them out to the church for their next rummage sale. I ended up having to deal with Sam anyway... He was at the house waiting to 'talk some sense' into me when I got back from the church."  
"He's not very persuasive, it seems."  
The joke had proven to be a bad idea since her giggle went straight through me. "Yeah and he's more pissy now than he was when I hung up on him last night. He thinks that I'm too naïve to take care of myself."  
"You are."  
"Excuse me?"  
"_Truthfully_. Don't be petulant or defensive about it. You _are_ too naïve. Sadly, it seems that no one else has bothered to accept that as you experience the world, you'll remedy the problem by learning. Even vampires need guidance to survive."  
She scoffed, "Jerk."  
"What have I done?"  
"You basically just said that I've been living under a rock and I can't even be mad at you about it... Anyway, with everyone out of my hair, I did some cleaning and took a shower. Since I had a couple of hours I laid out... The poor driver had to wait until I threw my dress on. I fell asleep since my schedule is off and didn't wake up until he came up the driveway." The nap in the sun that ended only a few minutes before she slid into the car would definitely explain why sunlight seemed to be a third passenger... No less irresistible, but it was a slight relief to know that I wouldn't be undergoing the constant test of that intensity.  
"Did you think vampires would begrudge you for not donning your usual bronze?"  
"No. I just... _It's my little vanity_."  
"Are you not worried about skin cancer?"  
"Don't be a party pooper. Skin cancer isn't sneaky like the other kinds. It shows up in plenty of time to do something about it. Besides, Jason's more likely to get it than me since he's in the sun everyday." The casual mention of her brother, insignificant as it was, caused a pang of remorse for her... _A blessed distraction_.  
"Does he know that you are traveling? The news of Hadley?"  
"No."  
"You called your Shifter, but your own brother is uninformed? How pleased do you think he'll be when he hears about your mysterious trip to New Orleans just after your grandmother's death? He's likely to imagine that you're callously enjoying a vacation."  
"I don't know what to say... How to tell him... He's still really angry with me."  
I took her phone and she watched carefully as I scrolled through her listings to retrieve his number... And then dialed it on mine.  
"What are you doing?"  
"Since he's angry, he's more likely to answer an 'unknown' number. Will you be able to hear or would you like for me to use the speaker?"  
She huffed, clearly unhappy to be forced to deal with him and slid closer to me. "Speaker phone makes him paranoid. I'll do my best."

"Yeah. Hello?"  
"Jason Stackhouse, please."  
"You got him. Who's this?"  
"This is Eric Northman. I'm a friend of Sookie's. We're on our way to New Orleans for business and she thought you should know where she'll be so that you don't worry."

"Why didn't she call me then?"

"She mentioned that the two of you weren't speaking at the moment, but she didn't want for you to be uninformed."  
"Business, huh? What kind of business could Sookie have in New Orleans? Waitressing seminar?"  
"In addition to her mind reading ability making her a very valuable business asset, she's been in contact with your cousin. She'll be seeing Hadley while we're there."  
"She found Hadley and she didn't say anything?"  
"I've been told that you aren't fond of vampires. Sookie's only reason for not telling you is that she thought you'd reject the idea of reuniting because Hadley was turned 3 years ago."  
"God-_FUCKING_-Dammit!" Loud as it was, his reaction was too ambiguous to give me any hint other than Sookie's embarassment.  
"Would you care to take down the address of where your sister will be staying so that you can contact her?"  
"No! If I know where she's staying I might drive down there to kick her selfish ass! Hadley's my cousin too, dammit! I hate Bill Compton. That's no lie, but I'd hate the prick if he was still human."  
"You're welcome to join us so that you can see her too." Sookie gasped and swatted my thigh.  
"Really?"  
"Yes, really. You'll need to be informed about behaving appropriately among vampires, but I'm sure Sookie will be relieved to hear that you're interested in joining her." Sookie started shaking her head.  
"Does Hadley know that Gran's gone?"  
"Yes. She's been informed."  
"If I do go down there, am I gonna run into Bill Compton?"  
"No. Bill Compton is dead."  
"Tell me about it. That bloodsucker is why Rene was after Sook in the first place."  
"Mr. Stackhouse, Bill Compton is now quite completely dead because of what a nuisance he proved to be to your family."  
"_Do what_?"  
"I'll be happy to explain the details fully when we meet in person, but rest assured when I tell you that you won't be suffering his company again. Can I tell my maid to be expecting you?"  
He huffed, "You sure Sook won't mind... I been a real dick to her."  
"You'll have to mend your fences eventually, yes?"  
"Yeah, I guess you're right... I can drive down for the weekend, I guess. I'll leave tomorrow after work."  
"Good. Expect a call from a woman named Paulette. She'll want to make sure you're as comfortable as possible."  
"Alright... And mister... You'd better warn Sookie that you called me. If I just show up, she'll kick your ass and then mine."  
"She's welcome to try."

Sookie stared at me for a moment while her eyes filled before she moved to quickly turn around on her seat to wrap her arms around my neck. The contact, the closeness, the way my arms reflexively went around her... _It was all too much_...  
She groaned against my shoulder, "Highhanded butthead."  
"Sookie..."  
"He's still gonna be an ass, but I had _no idea_ of how to even start that conversation. Thank you."  
"You're welcome... Sookie..."  
"Yeah?"  
"Get off of me."  
She giggled sitting back only enough to have her face inches from mine. Not far enough. "You didn't mind when I hugged you the other night."  
I was losing. "I wouldn't mind now, but... Tonight... You've accidentally made yourself too tempting." Her focus had shifted from my eyes to my fangs.  
"How?"  
"The way you smell is... Sookie, you aren't safe."  
Not only did she stay where she was, but she thought I was teasing her. "What about the way I smell?"

"It's obscene. I know that it's only because you fell asleep while tanning, but... You..."  
Even though it seemed to be dawning on her that she was practically vampire-nip, I was slowly leaning over her... Putting her back onto the seat... Laying on top of her...  
_And she was letting me._  
"Eric?"  
My nose was following the neckline of her dress and her hands rested on the back of my head while I took in all that I could before she thought of a way to stop me. "That's why I opened the window, Sookie. I was doing my best to behave."

"Is this the Faerie thing?"

I followed the dress back up to her other shoulder, only to get lost in what was waiting in her hair. "Maybe, but you don't smell like Fae… I've never been around someone who held onto the smell of sunlight like you do."

"Oh, God… Tell me you fed recently."

"I don't want to _drain_ you."

"_The smell of my tan is a turn on?_"

"No. You are, but this is making it more of a chore to resist you."

"You need to chill. You said that I wasn't safe… Now you've got me pinned. Snap out of it."

"Easier said than done."

She hadn't been resisting, but she seemed to give up by going completely still… her body was limp as I let myself get drunk on her scent… until finally, "Rape."

That did it… She didn't yell or even seem panicked, but just the mention…

I forced myself away from her. The last thing I wanted was for her to be afraid of me… never mind why I cared, but losing her trust wasn't something I was willing to do if I could help it…

I hadn't been aware that the car had stopped at Pam's curb until Sookie opened the car door and stepped out. She shut the door behind herself quickly and turned to frown sympathetically through the window. "Sorry, but I'm glad it worked. You should change your shirt while I'm inside."

All I could do was nod.

The night air offered little help in clearing the fog I'd put myself into, but changing my shirt at the trunk and focusing on the smell of exhaust eased my lingering mood…

In an effort to prevent further embarrassment, I leaned into the car just enough to open all of the windows and turn on the air conditioning…

When Sookie and Pam emerged from the house, they were both smiling and weighed down with Pam's ridiculous quantity of baggage. Sookie's hair was wet and she was wearing a new dress. It was no less revealing, but the sight of Sookie hadn't been the issue… well, no more than usual.

After playing her usual game of 'luggage Tetris' in the trunk, Pam slid into the back of the car and groaned, "Lord, Sookie! You weren't kidding. This is insane."

Sookie rolled her eyes, stopping in front of me. "Better?"

She tilted her neck to the side, inviting me. She smelled like herself under the mask of Pam's usual soaps. "Much. _**That**_, I can tolerate."

Her relief showed in her smile. "Good. If I had known… I'm sorry I 'cried rape'. It was the only thing I could think of."

"Don't be. That was smart. It might have worked if I could have felt your fear though. I'm not sure why I didn't."

"Because there wasn't any. It's kind of hard to be scared of a guy who's just snuggling you." _I'd been well over the line between snuggling and molesting… unbelievable._

I caught her as she started to lower herself into the limo and whispered into her ear. "I'm still sorry."

She grinned and kissed my cheek, patting my ribs on her way by.

If she had been afraid of me, I'd have understood… I'd have no choice but to accept it. I'd hate it, but it would have been a position I put myself into… Somehow, she'd thought to 'play opossum' until she could use her very well played exit strategy so that she could eliminate the problem by bathing. It was another example of how impressive she was at 'thinking on her feet', or _back_ as it were.

Without the help of feeling her, I'd already learned how Sookie fears… I'd seen the alarm on her face when I ended Long Shadow. Everything about her showed how frightened she was of me, from her jerking movements to the sound of her heart nearly pounding out of her chest… She couldn't get away from me quickly enough, even though her chaperone that night was much more likely to succumb to bloodlust…

Not that Bill Compton had ever been guilty of being likable, but I hated him all the more as I came to understand that the time I had lost with Sookie was because of his programming. I'd ended the vampire trying to kill her that night and even though I'd acted in her defense while Bill had done nothing, I was the one she ran from.

She had been loyal to Compton until she was told of his scheming... She trusted him until she was given a reason not to... Sookie even seemed to have accepted the pitfalls of being in the company of vampires... Case in point, she apologized for acidentally smelling too good even though she had every excuse to be traumatized by my behavior.

Those were the remarkable traits I'd been given hints about by my more fortunate visitor.

Being physically attracted to her and being curious about her ability had just been the tip of the iceberg.

I'm sure that I'd have come to the conclusion that she was far more than 'pet material' on my own, but she had already become somewhat of a prize to be won to me... There was no telling how much time I'd have wasted uselessly competing with Compton. There was no telling how many hurdles I'd have put in my own way...

Sookie began to panic as the car pulled around the hanger and the plane came into view.

"You'll do fine."

She gulped. "Are you just being nice?"

"No. It was part of my... _tutorial_."

"Ah... Then I'm going to challenge that... If I'm so damn 'fine' with flying, then why would he think to menton it?" She raised her eyebrow and tilted her head as though she was daring me to dispute her reasoning.

"That would be a fair point if he hadn't simply mentioned it as an example of how you've found our 'bubbles' useful."

"Oh. How does it help with flying?"

"He described it as 'hiding'. You concentrate on the quiet during landings so that you aren't overwhelmed with how frightened you are."

"So... Focusing, and hiding... Was there anything else?"

"He mentioned that it's a useful tool to help you measure age."

"Yeah... _Figured that already_... Now that I know how old you are and how old Bill was... Pam's about 300, 350?"

Pam laughed at her. "Very well done. You should've found a carnival to guess age and weight."

Sookie gave her sly grin. "I did... A couple of summers ago Gran talked me into doing it... The funny part: I was cheating folks out of money left and right to help the church buy a new roof."

As much as I wanted to laugh at the irony... "Sookie?"

She paused on her way out of the limo. "Yeah?"

"There's a word for someone who works for the church, but it's escaping me..."

She bit her lip, trying to hide how amused she was. "Eric, I do believe the word you're looking for is _**clergy**_."

I'd expected one of her usual playful rejections or cheeky replies... But as she slipped out of the car, she cut her eyes in my direction.

She was starting to flirt back. Things were beginning to get interesting.

Sookie was nearly half way up the steps to the plane when she stopped so suddenly that she caused a pileup... I had to catch both of them so Pam wouldn't hurt Sookie by falling on top of her. All things considered it was probably best that Pam was wedged between us like some sort of bundling board.

By the time I was sure they were stable, Sookie had one hand wrapped around my wrist at her waist...

Since she was still facing the plane, I could only guess why.

"Someone is waiting?"

Sookie remained quiet for a moment before she answered. "Two _really_ annoyed Weres. They were the two that didn't get into the bar last night."

"How annoyed?"

"Annoyed enough to be feeling really anti-vampire right now."

"I'm sure that the purpose was to test your ability with them. They already know how effective you are with humans."

Sookie stomped her foot and whined that she 'didn't want to listen'... She wanted to 'see how hiding works'.

Pam leaned into her ear. "Sookie, if you continue to bounce like that, I'm going to get a boner." I could have slapped her...

But Sookie turned around to look at her and then burst with laughter. "Pam! _You're horrible_!"

"_This is news?..._" She swatted Sookie's thigh and pointed towards the door to the plane. "Quit bellyaching get a move on. You won't need to listen for the _whole_ flight."

When Sookie turned to continue up the stairs (still giggling about Pam's 'boner'), Pam gave a surprised look over her shoulder. "Don't look at me. I didn't know making her laugh would work."

Sookie unceremoniously tossed her purse onto the couch next to one of the waiting Weres… I didn't recognize him, but his companion was Quinn… Probably the most conceited Were I'd ever come across… 'God's gift to Shifters'.

"I'm going to check out the bar. Anybody want a drink?"

Pam asked for a True Blood, but I'm not sure that it registered with Sookie before she turned around to glare at Quinn. "Not a chance in hell, Tiger. Watch yourself."

"What!?" His mouth didn't bother closing after his 'who me' defense.

She smirked at him. "Seriously? Someone offers you a 'drink' and you aren't well behaved enough to **not** think of 4 different ways for me to 'serve' you. _Grow up_… Jake, anything for you? A lil 'hair of the dog' to help with your hangover?"

Pam was cackling at the look on Quinn's face while 'Jake' nodded and asked her for a 'rum and coke please, ma'am' and choked back the stunned lump in his throat.

Quinn gasped, "What the fuck are you?"

She pointed in my direction. "**His**. That's all you need to worry yourself with." **Mine**. Fuck that she was 'playing the game'… She'd said it… _She'd said it and she hadn't minded._

As soon as she turned her back to stoop down to the mini fridge, the 'gape swapping' commenced. The two Weres looked around the cabin, stopping on each of us and one another while Sookie wasn't looking… She was just as amused as she was annoyed.

Sookie turned to hand over Pam's bottle, then Jake's glass… then came to sit on my knee with her drink…

She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure there _**are**_ warmer places to sit, Quinn, but I'd rather sit on hot coals than on your… _you're disgusting_."

"A fangbanging psychic, huh?"

"Sure. Wanna know how you're gonna die?" Pam actually snorted.

"Why didn't your _master_ get a True Blood?"

"Because if _my master_ was hungry, he'd have had dinner already. What's _your_ problem? Someone else use your litter box?" Jake started laughing, earning him a dirty look from his companion.

"You got something against Weres?"

"Nope. Just you."

"Really? How many Weres are you allowed to hang out with? You know, being a pet and all?"

"I'd rather be a pet than cleanup after one. What else you got? I can do this all night."

"How do you know who I am? Who Jake is?"

"_Oh, doesn't everyone know who you are?_ The champion pit fighting Tiger who moonlights as a _wedding planner_."

"How the fuck are you doing that!?"  
"Sister… Francine. Mom… Gloria. Apartment… in Memphis but you're almost never there because you live out of hotels. Your truck… needs an oil change. Social Security Number… 012-67-7…"

"_What the fuck are you?"_

"Other than… _completely fuckable_?… No, you couldn't cure me of necrophilia… No, I'm not going to stop."

Sookie didn't flinch when he stood suddenly. "Fuck this… I'm not spending another minute with that freak! Jake, lets go!"

Jake offered an apologetic look when he started for the door so Sookie waved with a smile. "Nice meeting you, Jake. I'll tell Hadley you said 'hi'."

Once they were gone, she leaned back against my chest as the three of us laughed… loud enough to sound mad… all of us.

I was on the verge (barely) of calming down enough to ask questions when Sookie patted my knee, still gasping for air. "We need to call Andre before Quinn calms down enough to do it."

Not only was I impressed that she'd think of it, but Pam was too.

I dialed my phone and handed it to Sookie. Pam seemed to question that I would let her handle things on her own so I tried to reassure her with a wink… and then tried to remember a time when I trusted anyone so quickly.

"Good evening, Northman."

"Sorry. It's Sookie. Would you rather talk to him?"

"That would depend on why you're calling."

"Ooh, right… well… I guess you could say that I'm calling to apologize… I just freaked out those Weres that you sent my way."

"You freaked them out? How did you manage that?"

"Well, not really both of them. Just the Tiger. He doesn't like having his mind read."

"Purifoy did?"

"I didn't get a good read on him. I got his name and that he's friends with Hadley."

"What did you get from Quinn?"

"That he's a big ole dirtbag. I got sick of seeing 'what I'd be good for' so I decided to push him."

"How did you push him?"

"I was insulting. See, I don't get much from Weres… just kind of scattered thoughts here and there. I've known a Shifter for a few years now and it's the same with him. Anyway, when Quinn was upset, he was a much easier read."

"I see. That's very interesting. Where are they now?"

"Going on Quinn's thoughts when he stormed off the plane, they're on their way to rent a car so they can drive back." _Because the little telepath scared the big bad tiger._

"And other than being a 'big ole dirtbag'…"

"Quinn seems alright. He was annoyed at the 'retarded errand' because he had better things to do with the wedding to organize… When I caught that he was with the company planning the event, I figured that's why you sent him. I didn't hear anything that would give him away as being part of the other stuff… But that doesn't always mean anything."

"Well then, thank you for the progress report. We'll see you shortly."

"Yes sir."

She put my phone into my hand and looked back and forth between Pam and me.

"How'd I do?"

As I said 'outstanding', Pam told her 'spectacular'… we weren't understating. _We were in awe_…

And I was probably enjoying that she was still in my lap (and perfectly content to stay there) too much. "Were you picking those thoughts out of his head?"

"No… I was being a sneaky bitch… He was answering me… I said, 'sister' so he thought of her… he was so spun up that he didn't realize he was feeding me his private life at every prompt."

I laughed again and Pam actually gave Sookie a 'high five'… _that_ was amusing by itself.

She bent enough to reach her feet to slide her shoes off… the fidgeting she was doing was improving my already unbelievably light mood. "So… now we don't have to wait to compare notes, right?"

Pam raised an eyebrow. "Compare notes?"

"Yeah. We all got different perspectives the other night… Eric thought we should darn the holes."

"I'm not sure how helpful I can be unless you want to know that Hot Chocolate has a cute little negligee that didn't survive its first night in service."

Sookie started blushing. "I doubt that's all she told you…"

"She told me plenty… but I doubt you want to hear about it if you're blushing over a see-through nightie."

That was my cue. "See through?"

Pam smirked while Sookie hid her face in her hands. "It was so popular that the evening gown I'd originally arranged for was replaced with one that looked like the nightie… I called ahead. They're both waiting at the house." Which is why I love Pam…

Sookie started laughing into her hands. "Thanks a buttload, Pam."

"Glad to help… Would you care to hear about your adventures in sex toy shopping?"

While Sookie groaned 'no', I answered, "I can't think of a better way to spend the flight."

Sookie finally uncovered her face, but only to grab her shoes and purse and bolt for the door. It wasn't any chore to catch up to her before her foot was on the first step. I scooped her up, laughing at her. "Where do you think you're going?"

She giggled and slapped my arms. "Set me lose! I need to catch up to Quinn so I can get a ride!" _Over my dead body._

"What if we promise to behave?"

She narrowed her eyes at me, but she was still smiling. "_I'm not stupid_. That _**was**_ you behaving."


	4. Chapter 4

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 4**

**Uncharacteristic**

Since she'd only been joking about leaving, she made no complaints when I had returned to my seat and kept her on my lap…

I was being greedy, but my curiosity as to how long she'd stay there was the perfect excuse to enjoy the contact.

The answer… even though she'd gotten up to use the restroom, she returned to sit on my legs as we continued to bring each other up to speed about own 'tutorials'… I'm sure that the reason she hadn't thought to move was that I was, for all intents and purposes, a 'conversational chair'. As much as I'd have given to serve as her Sybian, my hands and remarks stayed in the realm of PG.

Sookie only moved once Pam suggested that the two of them 'do something' with Sookie's hair with only 15 minutes left of the flight… even then Sookie sat on the floor between Pam's legs as her living doll until the pilot announced the pending landing...

She'd been so completely comfortable that her sudden panic was a shock to both of our systems. She was nearly hyperventilating when she quickly climbed back into my lap. She leaned against me, putting her hands to my neck as she tried to situate.

She whined, "It's not working."

"I could try to distract you."

She frowned at me and grabbed my arm to rest my hand on her bare leg… _Poor me_. "You're all covered up… Damn sleeves."

"Are you asking me to take my shirt off?"

She went still for a moment, but began fidgeting again with a growl. "If I find out that you made this up just to screw with me, _I'm gonna be sooooo pissed_." She began fumbling with the buttons on my shirt while I chuckled at her, opening two of them before sliding her hand into the gap to rest it on my chest…

"I'm not sure that will work. You should try my pants."

She pinched me, but only a split second later she relaxed _completely_…

'It' had finally worked…

Pam was staring. "What?"

She smirked. "If I had known getting felt up was part of it, I'd have volunteered for the job."

"I'm sure."

"How is she?"

"She's curled into a ball on my lap. How do you think she is?"

"I meant, how does she feel? Is she calming down?"

"She's… 'neutral'. It's as though she's asleep without dreaming."

"Cop a feel and see if she notices."

"I'm not going to 'cop a feel' and if you don't stop using so much slang, I'm going to put parental locks on all of your media devices."

"Why? It's not as though 'cop a feel'…"

"And 'boner'."

"And 'boner'… it's not as though they're obscure… they're common enough… you knew what I meant."

"You've gotten worse since we opened the bar. You're starting to sound like a college student."

"Uh… WFE."

"What is 'WFE'?"

"What. Fucking. Ever."

"That's it. I'm shutting down your blog."

"Which one?"

"The 'Well Dressed Vamp' _**and**_ 'Not At Fangtasia'. They're absurd anyway."

"You're just pissed that I blocked you."

"Right. That's it. I'm feeling _so very_ dejected that I won't get a weekly update about plaid being the new polka dot or pictures of the rejects that you humiliate in public before you send them away from the bar in tears."

"I still think you should feel her up to see if she's that out of it."

"I still think that we should let natural selection help you pare down your shoe collection."

She gasped. _"ARSON IS NOT 'NATURAL SELECTION'!"_

"In theory…"

"NO!"

"Think about it… If a Grizzly can only catch the slowest of the salmon… the ones who wouldn't make it upstream to spawn anyway…"

"My shoes can't save themselves!"

"No, but you'd finally prioritize them."

"You're mean."

"I have one closet. It has everything I could possibly need and there's room to spare."

"Men's fashion is less complicated. If I own 10 black shirts…"

'_IF'_, my dead ass. "You do."

"If I wear those black shirts two nights in a row, people would assume that I'm wearing the same one, night after night. You _**could**_ wear the same shirt night after night and no one would notice."

"That's because I exude a natural awesomeness that you lack."

"Asshole."

"You own 8 pairs of nearly identical black Louboutins."

"Nearly… and not so close that the difference went unnoticed. You just helped my point."

"I only know that they're different at all because you describe them in great detail when I ask you why I'm paying $1200 for another pair."

"Oh."

"_Oh, indeed_. As much as I try to ignore it… I remember too much."

"You remember enough to make me happy at Christmas."

"Not this year. I'm bored with Christmas."

"You've been saying that for 300 years."

"And I've meant it. We've done it your way, but I didn't even meet any Christians until I was dead… And other than using biblical figures as expletives, you only observe Christianity as an excuse to give me a shopping list every December. I'm done with it. I'm allowed."

"Will you buy more for my birthday?"

"Pamela, I couldn't possibly buy more for your birthday. You wouldn't have the chance to wear it before the next season. _You are not neglected_."

"Valentine's Day?"

"No."

"Bastille Day?" _Grasping at straws…_

"No."

"We could exchange gifts for Dia De Los Muertos. You've always appreciated the way South America celebrates."

"That's because they do it passionately and with style. Europeans and Americans are so blasé… It's only two weeks after your birthday though."

She winced. "Eww. Good point... Yule then?"

"It's sad that you don't realize that Christmas is the bastard child of Yule and Chanukah… Nearly everything but the greed was borrowed and renamed… plagiarized."

"The important thing is that you're not bitter."

"I'm not 'bitter', just informed. Christian holidays are a 'best of' anthology of all the so-called pagan holidays."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Saint Patrick's Day?"

"Seriously? Do I have to remind you…"

She waved her hands like she was shooing flies. "Ok! I get it! Don't celebrate Christmas then!"

I smiled at her. Sometimes she made it too easy to fuck with her. I'd gotten so used to the little game we played that I probably wouldn't know how to act if she didn't behave like an angel between her birthday and Christmas in a last ditch effort to get onto the 'nice' list… Seasonally well behaved… _That was the best gift of all_… "I'll make a deal with you."

"I'm listening."

"We'll still exchange gifts if you spare me from decorating."

"Your house?"

"And Fangtasia. The black trees with red feather boas and lights are a bit… well, _completely wretched_. Not to mention the wreath you put on the hood of my car or the disgusting Santa bobble-head… there's still adhesive on my dash."

"Not even outside?"

"Nowhere on the property."

"Ohhhh, come on… Just stockings for the staff in the locker room. That's it." She held her hand out to 'shake on' the deal but since the plane was still bouncing along the runway, moving my hand away from Sookie might not have produced the desired results.

"We have a deal."

"You won't move your hands?"

"Not yet."

"_How sweet_."

"I'm not being 'sweet'. I'm quite happy to leave her where she is without causing an anxiety attack for her in order to do something as meaningless as 'shaking on' a deal."

"Feeling her up wouldn't be 'meaningless'."

"You're right. It'll be a lot a fun, but I'm going to do it when she's awake."

"She's not as much of a prude as you think. She had me wash her back."

"She did not."

"She did. Might I say, the way the water…"

"Eventually, I'm going to set her down and when I do, you're not going to be as amused."

"Did you know that she has a tattoo?"

"She does not." I'd seen enough of the other Sookie to be relatively certain Pam was full of shit.

"It's called a tramp stamp… On her lower back… It's kind of a calligraphy type of flourish. Simple really, but it accentuates her hips and makes her dimples stand out… I couldn't help but notice. _You know how I love those dimples_."

"Pamela…"

"That's why I was so eager to find that particular evening gown… Sookie told me that the back was so low that she had to take her panties off so they wouldn't show… but the dimples did."

"I'm not laughing."

"I know. You're thinking about proving it. Go ahead. See for yourself. Just lift her skirt."

"I'm not going to lift her skirt to prove that a tattoo she doesn't have isn't there. If she's aware of what's going on around her, she won't trust me any further than she can throw me."

She started laughing in her throat and stood to go sit across from me so that I couldn't reach her. "It seems to me that she already has. _Thrown you_, that is."

She was going to pay for that. "I never liked you."

"Liar."

"Stop pushing me."

"I'm not pushing you… I was thinking that I might be able to convince her to 'add to it'… You know, 'Eric's' or something of the like. Maybe an ambigram so that you could read it… _either way_." Either way… bent over or… on her knees with her mouth… _Fucking Pam._ I should've punished her more often.

"Shut the fuck up."

Since the plane was gradually taxiing to a stop, I decided that Sookie wouldn't be likely to panic if I set her down… Not only would Pam stop needling my nerves once I could reach her, but I'd lose ground with Sookie if she regained consciousness to feel my hard on under her thigh… her _soft, supple_ thigh… _**Fucking Pam**_.

Her head had been laying against my chest, tucked under my chin and it wasn't until I'd started backing away from her that I realized how comfortable it had felt to have her against me… Normally contact with humans annoyed me when cumming or feeding wasn't involved… even then there were plenty of exceptions.

More noticeable than anything was that the lingering feeling of her body against mine was the same as the mysterious warmth I'd felt in my bed… and I was greedy for more.

I stood over her, watching for awareness, rather, _the life_ to come back into her eyes.

When she finally became aware of her surroundings, she seemed to almost smile before she took on a worried expression. "What's wrong? You look pissed."

"Pam likes to irritate me when we're confined together. It's her favorite sport."

Her grin seemed sympathetic. "I'm not touching you."

"No. I had to put you down so that…"

She started shaking her head and put her hand on mine. "No, no, no… that's the name of the game. 'I'm not touching you' is the bane of every road trip with kids. Jason would just stare a hole into the side of my face anytime we were in the car for longer than 20 minutes. It made me want to ride in the trunk."

"She does that too."

Pam started chuckling behind me. "I have Sookie to thank for how much more fun it was this time. Her being in your lap was better than having you chained." _What I wouldn't have given for even the smallest amount of silver._

Sookie giggled, but looked wicked doing it. "Well, then that's gotta suck."

Pam chuckled. "Why would anything suck?"

"Because it didn't occur to you that Eric could retaliate by giving me orders for while you're resting…" Sookie's eyes locked on mine and all I could do is smile back as my mind started racing with options. "…I mean, it's not like I'd have a choice and it only seems fair since you got him while he couldn't defend himself."

"You wouldn't!"

"_You used me_, Pam."

"I didn't use you, per se…"

"You took advantage of the fact that I was in his lap to push his buttons harder than you normally would've. Just like _you used me_ at the bar last night. How'd that work out for you?"

"I don't want to talk about that."

"I wouldn't think you would want to talk about it… I mean the panic written all over your face when you heard that the 'villagers were sharpening stakes'… You were so worried about him. I could've sworn I saw a tear before you left… The guilt you must've felt over your joke causing a chain reaction that could get him hurt… You should be careful… Someone might think you actually care."

"That's enough, _human_."

"And that's nothing compared to the speech you gave me through the bathroom door… you haven't already forgotten have you? You know, when you told me how you like me and all but if I did anything that got him hurt, you'd make sure I'd regret it… _That was really sweet_." Never mind that Sookie managed to ignore a threat to realize the reason for it…

Pam folded her arms and set an angry scowl. "You can stop any time now."

"Why? Are you afraid that I'd spill the beans about what the other Sookie told you? That she and the Pam she knows have talked a lot about how much he…" Before Sookie could finish antagonizing Pam with 'feelings', Pam had shot across the cabin to tackle Sookie back into the seat.

She sat on her knees over Sookie's lap, covering her mouth. "My life would be much easier if you could just be glamoured to shut up."

Rather than fear, I felt nothing but amusement coming from Sookie as she laughed into Pam's hand. She mumbled, unaffected by the dam, "Now you know how Eric feels, huh?"

Pam's mouth fell open and Sookie reached up and pinched her cheeks.

Sookie mumbled again, "I win. Now, get off me."

Pam's nose wrinkled as she fought to hide how much fun she was having. "You've only won the battle, telepath."

Sookie narrowed her eyes in jest. "Battle not with monsters lest you become one, vampire."

Pam cackled as she slid out of Sookie's lap… but I couldn't help but be a little more impressed with the 'simple waitress' who could quote Nietzsche.

Contrary to what we'd been expecting, there was no company, no test waiting on the tarmac. The driver was 'boring' by Sookie's standards since all he did was think about paying his bills.

No sooner than the doors to the 'palace' were ushered open for us, we had a 'tour guide' waiting for us.

Sookie stopped directly in front of Andre. "Since we've talked a couple of times, it's nice to put a face to the voice."

"Miss Stackhouse, you mentioned _seeing_ me in red and blue shirts."

"I did, but the only thing those folks remembered right is your eyes. It's normal for there to be some distortion… The pet you sent that has a crush on Pam only got her mouth right."

"It's not always the same feature then?"

"No, it's usually the feature that makes the biggest impression on the person in question."

"That's very interesting."

"Not really. I could bore you with this crap eventually."

He actually looked amused. "Perhaps… We've arranged for a 'party'. It seems to be the best bait to gather our donors. There's a mandatory staff meeting being called at midnight as well. Would you like to screen the donors or rest first?" I didn't hide my surprise that she was given an option any better than Pam did.

Sookie grinned. "Let's get the donors out of the way. I'm rested and ready for work."

It took the whole hour for Sookie to screen the donors since there were nearly a hundred of them. She used several tactics as she clung to me, mingling, shopping… She used different conversational keywords, each and every time, she provoked more thoughts that brought about the removal of another lowlife… Everything from mentioning her 'friend Peter' to asking me if there were any places like Fangtasia in Little Rock… she multitasked, looking for Church spies by muttering the occasional fundamental no-no… faking a twisted ankle and saying, 'Goddamnitalltohell!' helped her find 3 of them… and calling them 'bible thumping wack-a-doos' as they were escorted out helped her find 4 more…

There were two donors specifically that Sookie didn't need to bait… She pointed them out without hesitation almost as soon as she laid eyes on them and as the man and woman were escorted past her, she shied away from them… I decided to ask at a later time, but I had a feeling they had been the two responsible for the attack on Pam and Hadley since they matched the description that I'd been given… even if I was imagining the male with a knife handle jutting out of his spine.

All in all the 'dining room' lost a fifth of it's inhabitants by the time she was done… and as she and I followed Andre out to the staff meeting, Sookie gave a nod to let Pam know the brunette she'd been eying had been telepath approved.

As soon as the doors were closed behind us (minus Pam), Sookie breathed a loud sigh. "Andre, maybe you should hold onto to them until we're done with the staff meeting… I should take another pass. If you hold onto them, then they should be pretty paranoid by the time we go back."

"Do you believe you might have missed a few?"

"There were a couple that were getting a little jittery, but for the most part I just want to be sure… The donor restrooms and lounge need to be searched… there's weapons stashed in there."

"Weapons?"

"Nets, stakes and… gloves… like the kind for noodling with silver net sewn into the palms."

Andre raised an eyebrow at her. "Dare I ask what a 'noodling glove' is?"

Sookie giggled at him. "Catfish aren't too easy to catch with a rod and reel since they're bottom feeders… you kinda have to dive in and grab them. I never did it because water I can't see through still kinda scares me, but Hadley and Jason used to go 'noodling' all the time when they were kids. They'd use the gloves because catfish have spiky fins."

"Hadley? Fishing?"

Sookie's smile widened… "You know… I hear the hardest part is holding your breath long enough… Hadley could actually bring home more than Jason nowadays since she doesn't have the problem anymore."

He rolled his eyes, amused but trying to hide it. As he led us away from the 'dining room', he mumbled about an 'untapped vampire forte' and told her to name her price if she had pictures of Hadley noodling.

For the staff meeting, Sookie and I were placed at the head of the conference table next to Andre and she was given a seating chart. The obvious purpose for the meeting was security and attention to detail being of 'paramount importance' considering all of the additional traffic and preparations for the wedding. Since the employees underwent background checks, the staff of more than 200 only offered 8 moles… and Sookie seemed more confident with that group than she had the donors.

Andre seemed to be trying to stifle how surprised he was at the extent of Sookie's ability as he escorted us back to the dining room and Sookie was clearly thrown by how stoic he was.

Even when she proved herself right by finding 3 more of Arkansas' scouts in the dining room. They panicked almost as soon as they noticed us coming back… and one of them struggled in vain to break away from the guard who grabbed her. According to Sookie, she was hoping she'd be killed quickly in Louisiana because if she went back to Arkansas, 'Jennifer' was going to take her time… Hearing that one of the spies had instructions from Jennifer Cater, Peter Threadgill's Second, put a sinister twinkle in Andre's eye.

If Sookie had been concerned about the lives of the 'people' she was turning over, she was doing a remarkable job of hiding the emotion, even from me. Considering our company at the time, gushing over her accomplishment wouldn't have been wise even if it were in my character… so I preoccupied myself with wondering why Sookie would've made me promise to turn a thief into the police when she'd discovered Long Shadow's embezzlement since she seemed so willing to identify people who were going to be dead sooner than later.

The thought that Bruce's fear might've been troubling her crossed my mind only briefly… there wasn't any way the 30 plus infiltrators weren't terrified to be shepherded into the unknown by the Berts.

I was too curious to let _that_ go… _that_ was a conversation I'd be having with her.

Since Andre was going to be spending the rest of his evening wringing answers out of spies and zealots, we were invited to return the next night to speak to Sophie-Ann about the culmination of Sookie's 'hunt' and Andre's 'inquiries'. Sookie was beginning to fade quickly enough anyway, but I was sure Sophie-Ann and Andre would want to discuss plans for not only Sookie, but retaliating against Arkansas and 'church proofing' as well.

I wasn't going to embarrass myself by trying to find Pam on our way out. She'd clearly decided to stay for 'dessert'.

Once the driver closed the car door behind us, Sookie unwrapped herself from my arm and placed my hand on my leg. "Thanks for the loan. You can have that back now."

I nodded, still wondering about the reason for Sookie's double standard.

"You're not worried about Pam, are you? There wasn't anything going on in that donor's head, well unless you count that she was trying to figure out if she wanted to drop her economics class."

"No. I'm not worried."

"You're being quiet though… OhmiGod! _Did I do, SAY something in there!?_ _**Did I screw up!?**_"

"No. I'd have signaled you somehow. You did very well. I've never seen Andre so cheerful."

"Cheerful, huh? I'd hate to see him angry then… so what's up with you?"

"I'm not sure I want to talk about it."

"Ooooooh kaaaaaay… I can take a hint… I could use some quiet myself. As long as I didn't mess up or anything."

"You didn't mess up."

She grinned, albeit sleepily and leaned against the side of the car to watch the scenery…

I ended the tour of my house by showing her to the room she'd be staying in. She'd been struggling to carry her own luggage while eating a pear she'd appropriated from the groceries Paulette had left, but still, she'd insisted on not _putting me out_.

"It's such a pretty house. It's a shame nobody lives here."

"Are you saying that it's wasted on dead people?"

She wandered to the window to peak out through the curtains. "_Oh, don't be like that_… I meant full time… your maid has done an amazing job in the garden… it's gorgeous. _**It smells phenomenal**_. If I promise to shower before you're up, do you mind if I lay out tomorrow?"

"I can't think of a reason you shouldn't."

"Just making sure it wasn't a thing for your home owners association or something. Thanks."

"Can you think of anything you need?"

She furrowed her brow, wrapping her rich lips around her snack to take a bite… watching her mouth, her throat move while she considered my question almost distracted me from my puzzle. Eventually, she started shaking her head. "No… I'm sure I can figure out how to 'work' the bed and bathroom… What about you?"

"_What about me?"_

She pushed the curtain open and leaned against it to hold it open, still enjoying the view. "Well… it's not like you, _in my experience anyway_, to mince words… Is it political stuff that you can't talk about? If I didn't screw up with Andre, did I put my foot in my mouth or something?"

"I'm not sure I know what you're implying."

"You just…" She started shaking her head and finally turned to look at me. "…There's one for the ole diary… I'm actually asking someone what's on their mind."

I might have laughed if I wasn't so preoccupied… "I've been trying to figure something out."

"Like… which way to screw a lightbulb or relativity? I could help with the lightbulb… physics isn't my strong suit though." Cute.

"Long Shadow."

"You mean like why he'd have taken the money from you? I didn't get anything about it from Ginger."

"No. It doesn't matter to me why… You bargained for me to report the theft to the authorities. I imagine you automatically assumed I'd kill the thief."

"Yeah… based on what I'd been told about you." The way she glanced at the floor echoed the embarrassment she felt.

"You just identified 34 humans that are going to be dead before the weekend is over." She was taken by a strange blend of remorse and displeasure.

"That?"

"Yes, that."

"Call it silly if you want, but I kinda think killing someone for stealing is… _overkill_."

"But Long Shadow is dead… Is it acceptable because he's a vampire?"

"Not really."

"He would've killed you."

"Well, yeah… I'd feel like crap if I helped him get killed _over money_. He didn't die for stealing though, right?"

"Seeing as how he was a vampire, I _would have_ killed him for it. In my position, I couldn't have let it go. When I agreed to your proposal, I was still under the impression that the problem was human."

"You'd have held up your end of the bargain if it had been though."

"Of course."

"Then what are you trying to figure out? I'm kinda lost here."

"You don't seem to appreciate the consequences of revealing those humans."

She huffed. "Oh, _believe me_… I know the consequences."

"You aren't feeling as much as I thought you would."

"I can't feel for _them_, Eric… We've already established that I pretty much grew up under a rock… and if you told me to go spy on another vampire for you, even I know I should run the other freaking way… The Arkansas spies were sent so that Threadgill could stage a hostile takeover… The church members are volunteers sent to gather information so that organizers could plan a riot that would make the Civil Rights Movement look like a Girl Scout Jamboree. Even by human standards, the crime of conspiracy to commit murder carries the same sentence as the actual murder… Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Hold me to a higher standard because you think I'm so innocent… 8 days ago I was a breath away from 'kill or be killed' and believe me, I'd have killed Rene to save myself… maybe I'm a little raw from that still… maybe _I will_ regret sending them to the gallows, but tonight I'm going to sleep knowing that those 34 nuts were kamikazes."

"I wasn't holding you to a higher standard."

"Then what?"

"I thought you were being a hypocrite."

"A hypocrite!?"

"I'd been trying to find the reason for the double standard."

"Oh, really? Do I want to hear what you came up with as possibilities?"

"I wasn't sure. I considered that you might have had a sympathy for waitresses that inspired you to make a deal with me… I thought that maybe the difference was that in Shreveport it was 'just money' and here you're trying to protect family… the worst of all my options was that your potential paycheck for the task made their lives less valuable to you."

She turned to stare through the windows again. "That's. Just. Beautiful."

"I wasn't coming to a logical conclusion… not one that I cared to accept anyway. I couldn't solve the question."

"You thought that I considered them 'just fangbangers'."

"That crossed my mind…"

"But then you remembered how we met… That I came to you trying to find who was murdering them…"

"That didn't really quell the idea… Your main concern was your brother."

"I barely knew Maudette, but Dawn was my friend… Jason was why I got involved, but I didn't think any less of Dawn for being a 'fangbanger'… I felt sorry for her."

"Because she'd stoop…"

"STOP THAT! Stop assuming stuff about me! I felt sorry for her because she was beautiful and sweet… and didn't have anyone… sex with vampires isn't why I felt sorry for her, it was that she had sex with anyone… If it helps you down from your high horse a little, I feel sorry for Arlene too… She's been married more times than I can remember for the same sad reason Dawn was running low on fresh guys… _anyone_ was better than _no one_."

"I'm anyone?"

"Yes. You. Jason. Her mechanic. Two of her neighbors. At least one tipsy over-tipper a week… The crush she had on Sam just because he was nice to her… anyone. She starved herself to stay thin, spent more time on her hair than cleaning her house and every guy who 'never called again' made her feel more empty… tell me that that isn't a good reason to pity her."

"Your reasons for feeling sorry for her aren't recently adjusted? Perhaps since you dated Bi…"

Before I could finish the admittedly low blow, Sookie took a furious step towards me. "Fuck you! No they aren't because I dated Bill! I'm not adjusting my principles to justify my behavior. I _was_ trying to forget that I'd been so stupid… Since convincing myself that I'd been played wasn't helping me ignore that… that… I was just as pathetic and scared of being alone as Dawn… and I almost ended up just as dead because of it… Thanks though! I really appreciate the reminder that just because I'm slightly more useful than a normal human, doesn't mean that I'm not still _**just a human**_ to you…"

"Sookie…"

She took a deep breath and wiped the angry tears from her cheeks before clearing her throat. "Eric, It's been a long night… and I'm sure Gran would slap the snot out of me for asking you to leave a room in your own house, but I really just need some rest."

Pissing her off hadn't been my goal. I'd known that saying anything on the subject, even suggesting that she was being hypocritical practically guaranteed a mood swing, but…

I'd never considered…

Not for a second…

It never crossed my mind that I'd hurt her.

I wasn't even lucky enough that her 'hurt' was figurative… her feelings weren't simply hurt as though I'd insulted her hair… The pain in her chest, the pounding in her temples, the irritation in the pit of her stomach was all quite real…

I only barely left her room. Annoyed as she was that I was pacing the floor just beyond the door, I wasn't leaving until I could think of a way to undo something, somehow.

I'd hated that she was scared of me… Just remembering the way she squeezed past me to leave after I ended Long Shadow, careful not to make any contact whatsoever, I detested the look in her eyes. She had no reason to not be fearful of a vampire, let alone a vampire covered in fresh blood, concentrated on her… only an idiot would begrudge her for that…

Even after her insulting and irrational tirade of stereotyping when we'd had our visitors was forgivable in my eyes… she'd just found out that a vampire she trusted had betrayed her on untold levels…

Knowing that I'd fucked myself… knowing that I'd undone what strides she'd made to get past what she'd recently gone through… knowing that the stiff, uncomfortable feeling, the regret, the cynicism, the grief she was feeling was my responsibility…

I fucking hated it.

I fucking hated it more than anything I could bring to mind…

I was only biding my time until she was finished with the shower that wasn't helping her mood any more than I expected it to and I barely acknowledged that Pam texted me to not 'wait up'…

With the surplus of subterfuge that we'd already seen firsthand, I should have cared that she wasn't being more wary...

If I didn't know better, I'd call the sensation to get to Sookie an 'itch'… It started as soon as she turned the water off and intensified gradually while she moved around the room…

Waiting was nearly insufferable…

I knocked lightly once I was satisfied that I'd given her enough time to dress.

She sighed deeply, "_Really?_"

I cracked the door, still unsure of what to say and even over the scent of her recent shower, the salt in her tears was the first thing to reach me. "I want to apologize, maybe try to explain."

She was already laying with her back to the door and lifted her head from the pillow only slightly. "Is there really any point? We should probably just call it a night before we piss each other off."

I crossed the floor, closing the space that made her more comfortable and irritated me to no end. "I don't think it could make matters worse. We're already half way there."

"I'm not really pissed. I'm…"

I slid onto the bed behind her and finished, "Hurt. You're hurt and it's my fault. I'm sorry."

She gasped, becoming rigid as my arm went over her waist except to jerk her arm away. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to apologize."

"In the bed, Eric. What are you doing _in the bed?_" There was no mistaking the edge to her voice.

"Technically, I'm _on_ it. And I'm not doing anything but trying to apologize. I promise."

"Seriously?"

"Sincerely."

She huffed, lowering her arm, but still too tense for my taste… but I'd brought that on myself.

"I don't have a good excuse."

"Something tells me that you don't have a lot of practice apologizing either… I'll take that into consideration."

"You're right. I don't… Not only do I not do it often, but I seldom experience the urge to."

I was about to continue since she hadn't said anything, but she took a sudden breath that stopped me. "Then why now?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"No… I don't know. Normally… I'd have called anyone else a hypocrite unquestioningly, without caring about the circumstances or how they felt about it… I wouldn't have spent any time trying to examine any motivations. I wouldn't have avoided the discussion. I wouldn't have cared if they cried or _hung themselves_ afterwards… What I do know is that I've never been more relieved to be so wrong. I hate that I upset you and hearing you start the shower instead of roll your suitcase across the floor made me grateful for the chance to apologize."

"For someone who doesn't do a lot of apologizing, you're not bad at it."

"It's not practiced… I mean it."

"I know… I'm sorry too. I should've backed off. You were obviously trying to steer clear of the subject."

"I was only just realizing why the possibility of a double standard would annoy me so much."

"Really? Mind if I ask?"

"I've come to the conclusion that I'm not sure that I know how to trust someone."

She scoffed. "Righty, tighty. Lefty, loosy."

"I'm sorry?"

"I told you, I can help with light bulbs… You've got the wrong girl if you want help with trusting someone."

"You have more experience with it than I have."

"Ah, but you've seen how well that's worked out for me. I should erase the word from my vocabulary before it gets me killed."

"That's certainly the more widespread vampire practice."

She'd slowly started to relax, pleasant enough on its own, but her hand found mine and rested over it… The enjoyment I got from the way she absently skimmed her thumb back and forth across my knuckles was unreasonable and intense. "Damned if you do, damned if you don't… Trusting people can get you killed quick. Trusting no one guarantees a long empty life… Sounds like fun."

"Trusting yourself is sound."

"Did you give yourself any insight?"

"I was speaking figuratively, not literally."

She giggled, "I'll take that as a yes."

"I'm sure she told you a few things as well."

"Yeah… you don't want to talk about it though."

"It's not that…"

"It's that it feels weird, _maybe even crazy _to believe it?"

"Exactly."

She was thoughtful for a moment before she hummed. "Nuff said."

I almost thanked her, but it seemed like the idea of discussing 'it' any further was just as awkward for her as it was for me. "Alright then. Now that you proved that you have no idea what you're doing would you like for me to show you how to _properly_ 'work the bed'?"  
She cackled, bringing her heel back to kick my shin… _but she never moved her hand_.

"I'm only guessing, but I'm sure you misused the shower too."

While she calmed her laughing, she told me I was 'bad' and, if anything, only held my arm to her more tightly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 5**

**Misery Loves Company**

Sookie wasn't close enough and her mood was the antithesis of what I would've expected. I'd never admit it aloud, but we'd talked, light conversation and nothing more until nearly dawn… when I _had to_ leave her room for mine…

Fucking pillow talk. _Me?_

Nonetheless, she was tired but content, if not happy when I left her…

But the sudden horror, rage, exhaustion, fear… the brew wasn't enjoyable… she was close enough that I could feel her moving erratically, but not close enough that I could hear where… if she were in the house like she should've been, the 200 year old construction would've given away her location…

I was trying to calm her, trying to gather some clues while I dressed, finally feeling Sookie getting closer…

When I heard the front door slam against the wall in the foyer… and clumsy, frantic feet hammer up the stairs…

Followed by frantic knocking on my bedroom door.

"ERIC!"

My mind didn't have the chance to fully process Sookie's state, but before I was done with 'what the fuck?' her grimy hands were on my chest.

"Tell me you can feel her! Tell me you can tell she's ok! I couldn't find her!" The only clean part of her seemed to be where her tears washed the grime from her face… Sookie was covered. Soot. Dust. Blood. She smelled… _like a bomb had gone off. THAT _was when _my_ alarm really started to set in.

"Who?"

"PAM!"

"Why wouldn't she be? What's happened?"

"_Can you feel her before she rises?_"

"Yes."

"WELL!?"

More difficult, but not impossible while she's dead (and although it only took a moment), Sookie rattled impatiently as though I was taking my time. Even though I hadn't felt her leave the palace, I still checked since I'd been pleasantly distracted until just before dawn. "From what I can tell, she's still at the palace, or very nearby… now will you explain?"

"The palace was bombed today! Paulette and I were sharing a Mufalleta when we heard fire trucks… then another set… then another… we turned on the TV and it was all over the news… the back end of the building, where the service entrances are… GONE… How long have you been up? I tried to get back sooner, but the wards… I've been out front for a while now."

"Pam will call as soon as she rises. What happened?"

"From what I could get, there was one big bomb… like the Oklahoma City one… in a van… The blast was so big most of the cars in the parking lot back there blew up too… I couldn't find her… I looked and looked…"

"Try to calm down. I'd know if she were injured. Start at the beginning."

She heaved several breaths trying to calm herself, but neither of us noticed a difference. "As soon as I saw the news I went over there. I couldn't just… I wasn't going to just sit around and Paulette refused to let me go alone… She thought she'd be able to keep me out of trouble."

"How long before you proved her wrong?"

She winced, silently admitting that I was right. "About 15 minutes… cops and firefighters and paramedics and… the reporters were all over the place… I got around the back and heard one of the firefighters thinking that the fire burned itself out in the part he was coming out of… I went in."

"Looking for Pam?" _A pleasing concept… that Sookie would already feel so concerned for her._ One of the many things that would be on the list of things it felt crazy to believe until there was something more tangible taking place. Especially considering that Pam had been referred to as _'an acquired taste'_ more than a few times.

"Yeah… but I could feel them, their brains… it isn't just Pam in there…"

"Sookie… Going was hazardous. You could've been hurt. Information about you could've been leaked…"

She continued as though I hadn't said anything. "…I found a couple of donors who were just stunned… could barely hear anything… I had them show me where the vampires rest for the day. It's locked from the inside. There's a couple minds in there that could be Pam, but I didn't lay eyes on her… there was a couple of rooms that were light tight before but not now… and… you're sure that you'd feel her, right? Either way?"

"I'm sure of it. I'm going to assume that there will be a fair amount of identification to do later."

She nodded as she started pacing. "I counted at least 4 puddles like Long Shadow and like ten messes that looked more like a little campfire… not so many humans because I guess they go home at dawn… I met another daemon_. Tell me that he can be trusted_… lawyer, Mr. Cat, Catelled…"

"Mr. Cataliades is the queen's lawyer. He's been loyal to her for years. He's Diantha and Gladiola's uncle."

She took a moment to stop and mutter 'thank God' before she continued to pace. "He was trapped in a smaller conference room by himself because the door was blocked. He started helping me look for people and actually kept me from getting arrested… and found someone to keep 'rescue efforts' from getting to all the folks that got busted last night… It took a while, but me, Mr. C and four of the employees went from room to room… there are 5 rooms we couldn't get into, but I could feel brains…"

"Most of the rooms in the building are light proof and most of the resting places, gathering areas and such are insulated."

She nodded, still worried and on edge. "He's here."

"Who is?"

"Mr. C… He came with me to talk to you… there's a lot going on… Paulette called her brother and they're on their way to some place to get folks together… Once we got back outside, the reporters were recording stuff about how the church was claiming responsibility, claiming that any vampire execution was a biblical justice that was long overdue… that kind of crap…"

"That's not much of a surprise."

"It's not them though! It's Threadgill… I heard it… Two different 'bystanders' were thinking about how that same Jennifer woman was going to be happy with how they pulled everything off… All of this is a nightmare… Mr. C started calling all over and leaving messages for all the vampires he knew to chill out until they heard something once I told him… so that the Fellowship jackasses don't go getting martyred before it's their own doing…" She finally stopped pacing by crashing into me and wrapping her arms around my sides…

Even with the aftermath of a bombing on our horizon, I couldn't ignore how much I enjoyed contact with her. "You should go shower and try to calm down… I'll go talk to Mr. Cataliades."

Her head only shook slightly since she'd laid it on my chest… "I want to stay with you until you hear from Pam… _please_. I'll go clean up as soon as I know she's ok… the rescue workers didn't care about the vampires."

"Sookie, I wouldn't be able to hide it if I sensed anything being wrong with her. You know that, right?"

Her arms tightened around me. "I don't even think you'd try to lie about it… It'll just make me feel better. _Please_."

Downstairs, rather, just beyond the front door that was still standing open, waited the ever unwearied and genial Mr. Cataliades. His smile shifted into a sympathetic look for Sookie as I invited him into the house with her attached to my side.

"Evening Sheriff. Seeing you again would be a pleasure under better circumstances."

"Agreed. What needs to be done? What's already been done?"

"It took some doing and a brush with law enforcement, but sentries have been placed at the entry to all of the rooms where your pet found resting vampires as well as the holding area. Miss Stackhouse was able to find the queen's chambers… We're unsure if everyone is unharmed, but the rooms in question seem to be undamaged and she's confident that she 'felt'… is that the term?"

Sookie nodded.

"She felt vampires of the appropriate ages within the apartment. We don't have much reason to worry about the hierarchy it seems."

"Sookie's already explained that she overheard thoughts about Threadgill's involvement."

"She did. I'm quite thankful that the queen called me last night to start drafting her contract, otherwise I might have let disbelief prevent the peace of mind her talent offers. I've started preparations to collect interested parties at The Abbey so that the queen can explain the goings on before her vampires begin retaliating against the wrong party. For the time being we are assuming that the individuals of interest that Miss Stackhouse discovered last night being detained might have prevented some sort of check-in or phone-tree process. Miss Stackhouse suggested that the attack could've been a failsafe measure. I'd like to suggest that you do your best to contact those in your area in the hopes of avoiding misguided hostilities in your district as well."

"Certainly. Is there anything else? You said that there was a brush with law enforcement?"

He glanced at Sookie, grinning marginally wider. "In our efforts to make sure the areas containing vampires were still sound, we were separated. An officer happened on Sookie and tried to remove her. She wasn't cooperating. Paramedics were trying to handcuff her to a gurney when I found her and they released her once I explained that she was on staff. The officer she attacked may still press charges though."

"Charges?" She tensed against me.

"She was _fanatically_ opposed to an officer's attempt to breech the lock on the resting area's door. He's claiming that his rib is broken."

I chuckled (even if it was inappropriate, all things considered) and _couldn't help but be proud of her_. She looked up at me, cringing. "I don't know if they're in beds or what and the entry was getting too much light because the wall crumbled away in sections… And I didn't hit him _that hard_." She _had_ hit him 'that hard'. I could feel that she was minimizing her behavior as much as she was anxious about its outcome.

"The humans have been evacuated for safety reasons, I assume."

"Except for the inmates, yes."

"Who is available to explain to Sophie-Ann?"

"I should be hearing from her any minute. I left identical urgent messages for her and…" When his phone began chiming in his pocket, his eyes lit up and he earned a giggle from Sookie for his 'speak of the devil' comment as I nodded to the study to offer him some privacy.

She barely waited for the door to close behind Mr. Cataliades before she gave me a worried look. "I didn't mean to hurt him. He grabbed me and I elbowed him to get away."

"I'm not angry… And I doubt that you'll need to worry about anything coming from the charges."

"You sure?"

"Considering your efforts, I doubt you'll be left to answer for defending yourself… I still have a lot of questions."

She huffed stepping away, but taking my hand and going to the kitchen. "Ask away, but I need a drink. I have the nastiest taste in my… the smell…" She shuddered opening the refrigerator.

"I'm sure." She smelled like a crematorium.

She opened a juice bottle and swallowed most of it in one attempt. "_Is your phone even on?_"

"_She'll call, Sookie_. Pam's only just now rising and she's not giving me any reason to think that she's even aware that something's happened."

She huffed and leaned against the counter. "Alright… start the questions then. She's killing me."

"You mentioned Paulette and her brother. What are they doing?"

"Porter's a witch too… Mr. C was telling me that he was calling a meeting, but mentioned that he was concerned about security when Paulette caught up to me… She volunteered to take her brother to that place, the Abbey, to ward it… Mr. C was worried until I told him that she had to carry me over her wards here so that I could leave."

"She carried you?" The two of them were practically the same size.

She snorted. "I'm sure it was quite a sight, but she gave me a piggy back ride and it still hurt to get across. _She's no joke_."

"My only complaint about her is that she won't move to Shreveport."

Sookie raised an eyebrow. "You need a witch _and_ a telepath? Greedy."

"That's akin to asking if I need clothes and a car… they serve different functions, yes?"

She nodded her agreement after she finished the last of her juice and went to get another. "You got me there."

"Right. Is anything being done about the two whose thoughts you heard? The ones involved in the bombing?"

"Not at the moment, but they're screwed. I boosted their wallets. Mr. C has them."

"You assaulted a police officer and pick-pocketed?"

"Don't forget that I… _what's it called when you cover up something_?"

"Obstruction of justice?"

"Yeah, that… and I'm gonna ignore how quickly that came to you… When I felt all the sleaze balls in the basement, I convinced the cops that there were more vampires down there so that nobody would have to figure out how to explain that."

I smiled at her. "You don't give yourself enough credit. That _really was_ a brilliant maneuver."

"Pam?" She was more preoccupied with Pam's state than I was… granted, I did have the benefit of feeling that Pam was fine other than being irritated. She was just as likely to be irked at a cowlick from resting as the bombing though.

"Annoyed."

"That's it?"

"That's it. She could be standing too close to someone with an affinity for vinegar. She could be noticing that she needs to paint her nails. It's Pam, Sookie. She'll call."

"Why don't you call?"

"Because she's likely to be getting information… and because _**she'll **__call_."

"She's still there though?"

"Yes. Pam is still at the palace and is only annoyed. To make a finer point, she's in no physical discomfort. Is one of the vampires in the queen's apartment young?"

"No. God only knows where Hadley is, but one of the humans mentioned that she hadn't been there last night."

"Who from the church is claiming responsibility?"

"No one in particular. It's anonymous… And the worst part is those dumbasses are out front with signs about how vampires brought it on themselves… It makes me want to tell vampires to follow them home and make sure the last words they hear is 'Darwin Was Right'."

I laughed (and was too tempted) at the idea. "Sookie, you're becoming quite the skeptic."

"Says the guy who's lived a dozen lifetimes to the girl who's been seeing the ugly truth since birth… And was raised by a woman who believed that the glass is always full."

"Your Gran disparaged Disney princesses, but still had a 'half-full' perspective on life?"

"I didn't say 'half-full'. I said full… People tend to take the air in the other half for granted." Unfuckingbelievable…

I couldn't help myself… "I really do think I would've liked her."

She grinned, staring at her juice bottle dolefully before she pushed herself away from the counter as though she'd decided to not wallow… not that she had been. "Of course you would've. Everybody did… She was everyone's friend until they gave her a reason to stop." The concept had carried through the generations apparently.

"So I'm told…" Before I ended up floundering through a conversation about her brother in an effort to further distract her from asking about Pam, my phone started ringing… prematurely. I didn't like having to tell Sookie that it wasn't Pam. The disappointed look in her eyes made answering Ginger's call all the more distasteful.

"Master?"

"What do you need, Ginger?"

"Um… uhhhhh… we kinda have a problem, sir."

"Have you finally become aware of your retardation and need to adjust your hairstyle to accommodate your new helmet?" The joke was designed to lighten Sookie's mood, but it was completely wasted.

"No."

"Then what is the problem?"

"The parking lot is full, sir. Protesters with bibles and crosses." Lucky me. A parking lot full of the _wrong kind of mental illnesses._

"Have you called the police?"

"There was already a squad car here when I got here. They aren't doing anything though."

"Get the call sheet from my office and take it home to let the staff know that Fangtasia is closed until further notice and they'll be paid for the time they were scheduled."

"What about the customers?"

"They'll keep driving. Just make sure that you turn on all of the security cameras and lock everything."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Thank you, Master." _Mongoloid_.

Since Sookie was laughing (albeit slightly) when I set my phone down, I asked her why…

"Just 'cause you get a lil green when she calls you 'Master'… Um… just a suggestion- _and only if you have call waiting_… maybe you could call the Pack Master and get him to send a couple guys out to the bar."

"How are you thinking that would help?"

She shrugged. "Well, the Church isn't denying the credit here. They could get 'brave' at home. Security cameras can't get everything… subtle things like…" The misguided bravery that I hadn't considered was already enough to pay attention to Sookie's advice… but the idea that Arkansas could continue their tactics and the blame would be questionable had solidified Sookie's inspired idea before my phone interrupted her.

That time, _it was Pam_.

Sookie didn't bother to veil how eager she was. By the time I had my phone to my ear, she was leaning against my side to hear the conversation.

"It took long enough for you to call me."

"_You're worrying about me."_

"We both were. Sookie has been beside herself."

"I'm on my way back to the house now. There's a gathering tonight."

"I know."

"How do _you_ know? _**I was bombed**_ and you're still the first to know!"

"Sookie told me."

"She's psychic now too?"

"We'll explain when you arrive. I need for you to send a text to your little list."

"Regarding?"

"Responsibility."

"Consider it done. Getting into a cab now."

Sookie's smile couldn't have been wider as she hugged me, not giving me the chance to put my phone away… Her mood had lifted so much I wouldn't have guessed that she'd been sifting through vampire stained rubble for a bulk of her day.

Mr. Cataliades cleared his throat politely from the entryway, irritating me only because it inspired Sookie to move away. "Sheriff, I've been asked to return to the palace to explain more fully."

"I'm sure. What time is the meeting tonight?"

"11. The other sheriffs are en route already. Majesty asked me to inform you that she expects to see Miss Stackhouse this evening. She intended for her exposure to be more understated, but without Miss Stackhouse's statement…"

"Of course. We'll have her with us. Thank you."

He raised an eyebrow in Sookie's direction… after shaking her hand and describing their meeting as 'advantageous and enlightening' he showed himself out…

Once the door closed behind him, I chuckled, "Enlightening, advantageous and _repulsive_."

She shrugged and started to wander away. "I'll go clean up… I really did just want to hear from Pam."

"I'm right behind you. I'm almost as repugnant as you are now."

"You'd better find another trail of bread crumbs to follow."

"I owe you a shower lesson, anyway."

She giggled, not looking back. "Nice try."

"How did you manage to get so disgusting? If you weren't there when it happened, you shouldn't have gotten so much filth on you."

"I wouldn't have, but… I figured that… You wouldn't have known for sure, right? I mean… Other than Pam being there this morning when the sun came up? You'd have to assume…"

"You're covered in vampire residue again because you were looking for a way to identify them?"

"Yeah… It's not like vampires leave much of anything to help."

"How did the searching go?"

She breathed out a heavy breath, seemingly indifferent that I'd followed her to her bathroom door while we'd talked. "The guys were easy. Wallets… but Mr. C has a pocket full of jewelry…"

That would explain some of her panic… "You found jewelry like what Pam had been wearing. Pearls, yes?"

She turned around wearing a hesitant look. "Don't make fun. With everything that's been going on, I'm starting to think I'm a jinx or something. After today, I've officially lost count of how many people have died because of me." _Tragically understandable_. Mistaken, but it was a reasonable conclusion for her to reach since she wasn't acquainted enough to enjoy the 'shit happens' philosophy of supernatural events.

"I wasn't making fun. I wouldn't… not about that."

"Are you mad that I left during the day or something? You're just… _you're kinda staring at me_."

"I'm not angry either. Concerned that you were in the open and unprotected, but not angry."

She raised an eyebrow as though she was waiting for me to continue, feeling annoyed and suspicious she finally shrugged as she slowly put the bathroom door between us.

Rather than contemplate the subject of the bombing since we'd be spending most of the night up to our assholes dealing with it… or the foreign feeling that I couldn't place that might actually be fascination… I amused myself while Sookie showered by inspecting her clothing options…

When she opened the bathroom door, she was startled to see that I was waiting for her.

"Look at what I found." I held up a white lace bra and panties set from her suitcase.

She gasped, grabbing for my handful. "What do you think you're doing!?"

"Hoping that your towel falls off."

She reached again, but not before she tightened her hold on the towel. "You know what I mean!"

"Not _exactly_… But I really am hoping that your towel slips."

She tried to hide how close she was to laughing by grabbing my shoulder to pull my arm to her… It didn't work… It only put her body against me. "Eric, I'm pretty sure that was a panty raid."

"_I'm pretty sure_ that a panty raid results in _missing panties_… you know exactly where they are."

She reached again and all but bounced her body off of mine. "Yeah! They're being held hostage."

"I'm hardly holding them hostage."

She huffed out a wry laugh and put her hands on her hips. "You might not have made your demands yet, but you want something."

"Such as?"

She rolled her eyes. "I don't know… _my towel_…"

"Deal." That was too easy.

Her eyes practically bulged. "That wasn't an offer… I didn't… that's not…"

"You aren't going to renege, are you?"

"I was going to say that you…"

"Negotiating is a delicate operation. You should be more clear."

She narrowed her eyes. "I'm not giving you my towel."

"That's a slippery slope, Sookie. If I can't be sure that you'll follow through…"

She interrupted me with a loud groan and stomped past me. I bit my tongue so that I wouldn't laugh at her as she flung open her suitcase and started to rummage around, cutting her eyes in my direction every so often. She practically stabbed her arms through the sleeves of a short robe and once its sash was tied, Sookie wriggled the towel out from under it and tossed it at me. "_There's your towel_… how's that for 'follow through'?"

"That was shifty of you."

"Negotiating is a delicate operation. You should be more clear."

She finally let herself laugh when I did. "Using my own words against me?"

She giggled, "_You would __**so**__ do that to me_." That wasn't the point.

"There's a very long list of things that I'd do to you…"

"Uh huh, I bet... Give my panties back."

I held them out to her and waited until her hand was just about to get what she was after… _and dropped them_. She stared at them for a moment before she scowled and all I could do is smile.

"I'm not bending over to pick those up."

"Then why bargain for them if you didn't want them?"

"_I do want them_… but I'm not dumb enough to forget about the mirror behind the dresser." _And what a shame that was…_

I bent to pick them up again. "Then I'll keep them…"

She laughed, trying to grab them before I could. She only managed to start her argument before she stumbled, letting me pull her to me along with my lacy treasure. She did her best to seem annoyed, but had to realize that I knew better. "Let go, butthead."

"I beg your pardon?"

She raised her eyebrow. "You heard me."

I leaned over… putting my ear closer to her mouth. "I'm not sure that I heard you _correctly_."

I immediately regretted continuing the joke. Without a bit of hesitation, she rested her cheek against mine to whisper what she'd already told me. She could've recited the Fellowship of the Sun's mission statement… I'd have probably been just as ruined. All it took was feeling her breath in my ear, over my neck, moving my hair… as much as I thought I needed to ignore the urge, I let go of her underthings so that I could put my arms around her… I only managed to justify the act because she didn't move away or even seem to be anxious to…

Everything about her reaction was encouraging… not like before… not like in the limo when she was biding her time… not like when we'd been in bed together and she seemed as though she was waiting for me to 'misbehave'… even the way she'd hugged me earlier had been more of a comfort seeking gesture…

But the way she leaned into me, like she wanted to be touched as much as I wanted to touch her…

The way she sighed, like she found something soothing about my growing obsession in her…

The way her body only seemed to get warmer the longer it was pressed against mine…

The contact was teetering on the fine line between being enough and being the first snowflake in an avalanche until she turned her head… her nose grazed across my collarbone, _just my collarbone_, but it was unexpected enough that it caused a desperate ache…

It was enough.

It was enough that I didn't notice that I'd taken an ambitious step towards the bed until I realized that Sookie had taken the same step with me, sliding her empty hand up my arm and lifting her chin…

The gap between our lips seemed to be closing by itself, when the knock on the door put a halt to what could have been…

Pam's typically violent knocking was delivered with the amusement I would've expected considering what she was interrupting. "Hey there. Look at what pretty little thing I found when I got here."

I looked over my shoulder while Sookie peeked around me to see her brother and he was less than amused.

"I wouldn't call _**that**_ a 'unique' ability, but I'm pretty sure there ain't much legal 'business' involving taking your bra off… You don't waste no time, do ya?"

His pending arrival had clearly slipped Sookie's mind just as much as mine.

Worse than the sudden change of mood…

Worse than Jason Stackhouse's obviously foul temper…

Worse than the icy impression left behind when Sookie stepped away from me…

Worse than any of it was the choking sensation in my throat that wasn't mine… Jason's remark had stirred a hornet's nest of humiliation and regret for his sister. His greeting had made her feel like a whore…

_And we still had the whole weekend ahead of us._


	6. Chapter 6

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 6**

**Burned**

I'm not sure why it happened so quickly, why all it had taken was the one statement…

The fact that Sookie was suddenly ashamed enough to be fixated on the floor like a scolded dog would have been reason enough without considering what she was ashamed of… or what she was getting from Jason's feeble mind.

It made the way Jason's throat fit into my hand feel that much better…

Pam had wisely given me a wide birth, but Sookie followed close behind me as I carried her dangling brother down the stairs… Her hands patting my shoulders or pulling at my shirt while she begged me to not hurt him…

Even if I could've ignored how pummeling the prick would make the wrong one of them afraid of me, I couldn't afford the luxury of pissing off the queen.

I spared no kindness when I dropped Jason Stackhouse in the courtyard. Even so, instead of rushing to his side, Sookie stood behind me with her hand on my arm.

"When we spoke last night, I believe I mentioned that you'd need some guidance, some etiquette lessons so that you wouldn't fuck up and get yourself drained. Do you remember that part of our conversation?"

He was still gasping for air and rubbing his neck. "Yeah, just like I don't remember you saying anything about being a vampire."

"Terribly sorry, but if I remember correctly, you didn't point out that you're a human either. Get over it."

"Get over it!? You just carried me like I'm full o' air…"

"Don't confuse yourself. I carried you out of respect for Sookie. If she didn't love you, I'd be mopping you up instead. It seems like you're already in need of a lesson."

"What the fuck is choking me supposed to teach!?"

"That vampires are just as individual as humans… While some vampires will stand by and watch you strike your sister without acting in her defense, others might not tolerate seeing you hurt her _in any way_. Consider me part of the latter group and _consider this _the only warning you'll get."

""What? I'm supposed to be happy that my sister's tied up with another vampire. There ain't much of the family left for her to get killed!"

Sookie's sudden pang of guilt shortened his shelf life exponentially. "I couldn't possibly care less if you're happy about whom your sister associates herself with, especially considering that your grandmother's death and Sookie's injuries occurred because of who **you** fucked."

"How the fuck do you figure that!? Rene wouldn't have gone after her if she wasn't with that other one!"

"And why was she with 'that other one', genius? Because of your habit of taking the sloppy seconds of vampires to bed and running your mouth about it... If your grandmother hadn't been desperate to keep your useless ass out of jail, your family would have simply been considered unfortunate enough to be Compton's neighbor. Nothing more. _**You**_ made them the target of a serial killer, not Sookie."

"BULLSHIT! You already said that Bill was to blame for that shit!"

"No. I told you that he had been punished for his actions. He found out about your sister's ability and took advantage of the situation so that he could manipulate and monopolize her..."

"That mind reading thing she does got Gran killed!"

"No. That would be Compton."

"How do you figure?"

"Rene Lanier strangled his victims. Adele Stackhouse was stabbed, wasn't she?"

"You're saying that Bill is the one who…"

"He didn't do it himself. He wouldn't have risked being caught. He would have glamoured Lanier to do it… so that he could be somewhere else…"

"He knew… Bill knew it was Rene and had him go after Gran and Sookie? How did he know if Sookie didn't?"

"The cat."

"Tina? What does…"

"It's my understanding that the cat was killed first. Yes? Most likely as a warning message. Bill helped dispose of the remains… Rene would have left his scent behind. It's all Bill would've needed."

"Y'all can smell that good?"

"You were at Sookie's house and Merlotte's at some point today and you've eaten some sort of vanilla ice cream."

His mouth fell open and it took him a moment to get it closed again. "I… I went to get a photo album and stopped for lunch on the way out of town… vanilla shake." _Goody, do I get a prize for being right?_

I rolled my eyes at him. "You are still welcome to stay so that you can visit with your cousin, but only on the condition that you show your sister the respect she deserves. But know that you won't step foot inside of my house until you apologize to her for earlier."

I could only hope that the gratitude and irritation that Sookie was feeling was in my favor as I went back into the house, motioning to Pam so that she'd follow rather than eavesdrop...

She acted like it physically hurt her to walk away from the conversation that started with Jason's apology.

She waited until we were in my room before she started with a groan. "You know I didn't realize he'd act like that, right? He was all smiles when he introduced himself."

"He might not realize that you're a vampire yet... considering the length of your skirt."

She pointed her leg to admire it jokingly (_half jokingly_). "Have I thanked you for turning me before I took on my mother's figure?"

"Every spring since ankles lost their taboo... What do you know?"

She huffed, "I know that the resting room I was in held 9 of us... There were 57 that were in the building when the bomb detonated... 38 were left when we were rounded up afterwards. How did you find out so quickly? _Did you stop flirting with Sookie to watch the news?_"

"Sookie had Paulette carry her over the wards so that she could go find you..."

"_**ME?**_"

"They were eating lunch when they heard the sirens and found out about the bombing on the news. She snuck into the rubble and started sifting through puddles and ashes looking for you... When she returned she was hysterical because she could only feel what might have been you, but she'd found pearls. Hadley's wellbeing seemed like an afterthought when I asked."

"Oh. My. God." That just about covered it... Pam was just as floored by Sookie's concern for her as I was and I decided to not mention that I caught a tremble in Pam's chin.

"She refused to bathe until you called. Mr. Cataliades said that she attacked a policeman who was going to open the door to the room you were in..."

"The adjoining room is destroyed... There's no wall left." The 'heartless bitch' let her lip quiver... Ignoring _that_ was harder than I thought it would be.

"Sookie told me as much."

She snorted, "That would explain why Andre called me 'Lady Luck'... Where does the daemon factor in?"

"He was trapped in an office. She freed him and they worked together... The two of them found a use for Paulette as well... She's been sent ahead to the Abbey to establish some sort of perimeter."

"Shit, Sookie could be proving herself to be too useful."

"Since she's also to thank for how we know which group is responsible... I'd have to agree..."

"That was Sookie? They didn't mention... How did she get that?"

"In the crowd of gawkers... A pair of Arkansas pets were admiring their work... She didn't waste any time either. Apparently, Sookie stole their wallets and gave them to Cataliades."

She snickered, "She pick pocketed? It's a damn good thing she's on our side."

The epic understatement was only further pointed out with a light knock on the door. When I opened the door for Sookie I wasn't sure if I should expect some backlash because of how I'd treated her brother, but she grinned bashfully on her way past me to Pam. The look on Pam's face when Sookie hugged her and kissed her cheek without hesitation was priceless... Because of Jason's offensive salutation, Sookie hadn't had the chance to be happy to see Pam.

But it only got better...

Without a word, Sookie turned around and left again, leaving Pam with the most shocked expression on her face that I'd ever had the pleasure of seeing... And the way her throat and jaw were clenched completely explained why Pam used showering as her excuse to take leave...

When I was finally showered, dressed and had gotten my call to Flood out of the way, I found Sookie in the kitchen filling two plates with some sort of Cajun slop.

"You obviously need some sort of diagram for proper counter usage as well."

She blushed in spite of her amusement. "Thank you."

"My pleasure. Do you want it now or after you master the bed and shower?"

She smiled without looking in my direction. "I meant for earlier. Jason really did feel bad. He wasn't just apologizing because he was scared not to... He meant it." He was the last thing I wanted to discuss with her.

"I'm still going to draw the diagram."

She giggled, "I'm sure."

"Do you have a preference? Heads or tails?" I certainly couldn't decide.

She paused briefly to raise an eyebrow and went back to her task. "You mean you can't fill a book?"

"Counters are so versatile... We should start slow."

She cleared her throat playfully. "Do you mean 'slow' like a prolonged preface, or 'slow' like one chapter at a time?" _Ooh, someone's feeling puckish..._

I moved quickly, earning a quiet yelp when she found herself pinned between me and the refrigerator. "Slow... Like 'See Spot Run'... I'd hate for you to miss out on the basics." The chill that put a prickle over every bit of her exposed skin wasn't caused by any feeling that would help me keep my composure... It was getting more and more difficult to control myself around her.

"How very considerate... How long do you think it'll take before I can handle an epic?"

I actually growled. "If you keep this up, you may very well find out sooner than you'd think."

"Hmmm, I hate a drawn out ending."

I managed to chuckle. "Too much exposition can be just as irritating."

The corners of her mouth turned up slightly as she rested her hands on my chest. "Without the exposition, you wouldn't care about the climax... Besides, _you don't seem irritated_."

"Are you almost out of literary euphemisms for how long I have to wait to see you naked?"

She dropped her face and laughed into my chest. "Yeah. That's all I've got... Time's up anyway..." She pointed to the ceiling, bringing my attention to the noise coming from Pam and Jason moving about. _Fucking interruptions..._ "What do you want to do about Jason?"

"I can glamour him to go watch the wisteria grow up the trellis."

She snickered, "About the 'no human' command performance we all have to go to."

"He'll go too."

"That'll be awkward, don't you think?"

"There's only one vampire there that has an opinion that matters and if she has a problem with his presence, we'll crack a window and have him wait in the car."

"You just talked him down from a hissy..."

"We'll make due. He'll need a short crash course so that he doesn't try to shake hands with everyone."

Pam's short pink skirt and fuck me pumps were to thank for how well Jason Stackhouse's education went. Any time he seemed to be getting riled by a simple fact of life (or death, as it were) all Pam needed to do was slowly uncross and recross her legs... Crisis averted.

The conversation came and went relatively painlessly. Enough so that Pam and Jason were debating whether Space Jam or Back In Action was a better semi-animated movie while Sookie and I rolled our eyes at our own personal Looney Toons when we were surprised by a chauffeur...

I'd planned to drive, not thinking that there would be any reason to do otherwise...

But as the Berts explained, the queen didn't want to leave any room for error in Sookie's security.

While Jason's simple ass seemed impressed that his sister rated a limo, Sookie had the sense to feel concerned if not scared.

Thankfully, both Berts rode in front offering us a modicum of privacy.

By the time the car was moving, Sookie's heart was racing.

She leaned to put her mouth to my ear, barely whispering, "I'm too valuable now, aren't I?"

"I'm afraid that appears to be the case."

Her whisper broke, "Is there anything we can do?"

The word stumped was the only way to describe my position. There wasn't a single option for keeping her with me instead of letting her become a royal pet that I didn't think she'd reject.

Pam sprang from her seat to bookend Sookie and whisper in her ear, "Bond. That's all you've got, kid." At least I hadn't been forced to be the one to say it.

"What? Now?"

Pam nodded. "You don't smell like each other... You need more of his blood. Exchange now so that you at least smell like him more than Bill and Long Shadow; so that he smells like you too. It'll make them reevaluate their position... It'll give you another night or two to complete a bond... If you play nice and seem loyal, agree to pretty much any contract, bonding should hold off the temptation."

"But... Everything went fine for the others. I don't... This isn't fair. _I was playing nice_."

"The others hadn't been attacked though. Scared doesn't look good on vampires any more than humans."

All things considered, Sookie was holding herself together better than she should have... Her anger and fear were grating enough that Pam was feeling it through me, but it would've been difficult to know by looking at her...

Sookie gave me a long, pensive look followed by a heavy sigh... "You were warned about exchanges though... How the hell are we supposed to manage that? Jason... The Abbey's only a few miles away..."

Pam patted her thigh and offered, "I'll take care of pretty boy with a glamour. You two just take turns... The other Sookie told me that things get less out of hand that way."

Sookie squeezed her eyes shut and slammed her head back into the seat while she stomped her feet... Any other time I'd have been tempted to make fun of her tantrum... She groaned, "Your call, Eric... I'd really rather not end up being some super donor."

Livid as I was that I was just the lesser of available evils for Sookie, I gave Pam a nod to start her chore... There didn't seem any other way except for turning Sookie and I wasn't about to win her with an act of treason... Not yet anyway.

Once Jason's control had easily been taken over, Sookie swept her hair away from her neck and swayed in my direction.

"Sookie, are you sure?"

She nodded abruptly, wanting to get it over with. "Yeah. I'm pissed as hell about it, but I'm sure."

"Not with me though? I don't want you..."

She swatted my knee and pushed closer. "No. Not with you."

"We could be wrong. All this will do is make us seem closer. Less indifferent. There will be time to change your mind about bonding later once we have the chance to talk about it."

She nodded, biting her lip. She whimpered, "Just do it. We're running out of highway."

Over the years, I'd fed from some of the most pathetic and used creatures in the whole of existence. Desperation or availability, eager or glamoured, whatever the case had been... I'd never looked forward to a taste of one human more than I had anticipated finally being invited to feed from Sookie Stackhouse and the completely fucked circumstances robbed me of the enjoyment I should have been able to revel in.

Even as I licked the delicate skin over her carotid artery to numb her, she ruefully breathed that there was 'no point'...

_Everything was fucked..._

Instead of enjoying her complicated flavor or the way her nails dug into my wrist or the way her blood seemed to fill me and warm me from the first drop, I was preoccupied with the ideas of losing her... Whether it was _because of_ or _in spite of_ that exchange...

If she could get away, if she could get out from under the nightmare that had become her life, why the fuck wouldn't she?

It was starting to seem that no matter what efforts we made, this Sookie was doomed to relative misery... And I'd go with her.

She watched quietly as I unbuttoned and rolled the cuff of my shirt and asked that I be the one to break the skin because she was afraid to 'make a mess'...

'Less out of hand'...

Less out of hand my ass...

Stingy would be an accurate description of my long standing attitude towards sharing my blood... But if it had ever felt like that before, I'd have droves of pets and children...

It was all Sookie...

And even with the warning and the undesirable situation I was close to losing control.

From the moment her lips wrapped around the wound in my wrist, before Sookie's first pull, I was shaking... Struggling to keep myself off of her, out of her...

Any questions I had as to why I'd have wanted to bond with her were gone in that instant...

Why I cared about her feelings on being mine, being bonded, being turned...

How I would commit to protecting her family...

What made her more than entertainment...

The longer she drew me in, the more the mere idea of stopping her hurt.

And the clearer it became that I'd do anything for her...

All of that... And I couldn't be distracted from the fact that her eyes never left mine.

The only thing that stopped us was that Pam had the presence of mind to pull us apart and sit between us until we pulled up to the Abbey...

Sookie was still trembling and struggling to catch her breath and I wasn't doing much better.

Jason was none the wiser about the events of the drive other than the 'all over pulled muscle feeling' he'd gotten as the car carried us over the boundary of Paulette's spell… Still ogling Pam and everything her dress had to offer, he asked about the 'vampires & churches thing' as we were led to the large commons area within the old monastery... Pam's arm was linked to his and Sookie was clinging to me more closely than ever before. The residual effects of sharing blood had managed to turn me into a walking hard on... I was so sensitized that her pulse quaked through me; the slightest shift of her hand, even through my shirt, was a tease.

The Berts had barely left us with our orders to wait when we were singled out.

Cleo Babcock was the youngest of the Louisiana sheriffs, but her age was no excuse for her impertinence. She stormed over to the four of us with her fangs drawn as soon as she arrived with a handful of her minions. "Northman! What do you mean bringing humans? Here? Tonight?"

Her entourage was laughingly surrounding us and given how on edge I was after my exchange with Sookie, her timing couldn't have been worse. "Cleo, you need to settle down before you get hurt. Sookie is more necessary to tonight's proceedings than you are."

"You can feed later. You brought two humans after they ended a dozen of us!"

"Nineteen."

"What!?"

"The attack... It ended 19 vampires."

Her face only became angrier as she took a step closer. "Explain how that makes your fangbangers any more welcome here?"

Calling Sookie 'mine' had been overshadowed by referring to her as a fangbanger. I simply grabbed a handful of her hair, but the only way for her to keep her scalp was to go to her knees when I yanked her down to enjoy the surprised look on her face. My other arm never left Sookie's clutch. Before I could further remind her of her place, the party was crashed by the arrival of Diantha and Gladiola... Swords drawn.

"Evening, Sheriff Northman."

The cavalry... "Ladies."

"There'a problem?"

It was almost worth a chuckle. "Not at all. Cleo was just saying hello."

Gladiola snickered, "Gotcha. When yer done, Uncle's looking for you and Sookie... Oop, I mean Miss Stackhouse."

Nothing looks more hilarious than the sight of a vampire eating figurative crow. I released Cleo with a shove that put her on her ass and waited for the sound of the daemons' swords sliding back into their sheaths...

While _there are_ more delicate and graceful ways to be smug, Pam made an art form of ignoring them all... especially when there was an audience. Risking a glance in her direction made me wonder where I'd 'gone wrong' as her maker. She was sticking her tongue out at Cleo and holding up her perfectly manicured middle finger.

'Uncle' was waiting in a quiet lounge with a hearty smile saddled on his face... He welcomed Jason's presence without question and waited for us to be seated before he opened his briefcase to hand over a pair of documents to Sookie and me and start his spiel.

The purpose of our meeting was Sookie's contract. Upon his return to explain the day's events to the queen, he was given unconditional orders to complete his work on it.

Line item by line item, Sookie sat with a slacked jaw... Easing her reaction was impossible. When her brother overheard the value placed on Sookie's ability, it seemed as though his thoughts made her more anxious...

Thankfully, Pam thought to take him in search of refreshments in spite of her curiosity before we reached the portions of the contract involving possible injuries...

Since Sookie was still in shock, feeling _nothing_ on a disconcerting level, Mr. Cataliades excused himself to give us a moment for discussion, reiterating that there was plenty of room for negotiation.

Watching Sookie's lip falter as she tried to form a sentence while rescrutinizing her would-be contract was too tempting. I reached over, and ran my thumb over the softness not once, but twice before she seemed to notice. Awareness came to her eyes like wind filling a limp sail as she took my hand to lace her fingers into mine.

"What does this mean? Why would... We thought they were gonna steal me, right? Why would they offer to pay me anything if...?"

"Sometimes it's good to be wrong... But there's more to this."

"You mean we aren't in the clear?"

I pulled her chair closer to mine so that I could speak directly into her ear. "Sookie, the holidays... I think that the queen might have had a visitor of her own."

She gasped, "How? _Why do you think that_?"

"My tutorial, I told you that he gave me every exception and clause in your contract... You were originally offered double pay for 'bank holidays', but you negotiated away three minor holidays so that you'd only be called under dire circumstances over Christmas..."

She stopped breathing for a moment. "This one says that I'd get quadruple pay and I'd only get called if it was an 'urgent matter of concern for the security or livelihood of the state'. It's already fixed... I thought it was because I'm part faerie..."

"We know that you are because Hadley is too... I think that your increase in value to them is reflected in your rate. You're being offered twice what the other Sookie was..."

"So... I'm worth more because of today... But not worth stealing?"

"Perhaps your behavior today, your attachment to Pam, anchored you to me... Maybe it's as simple as realizing that they'd lose more than just a telepath by trying to go around me... Either way, if they had the same bizarre visit that we had, then they would know definitively where you stand on who your master is."

"I need you to say it, Eric. I need you to say that you think everything is going to be ok."

I'd been worried that she'd feel angry about our misguided beliefs considering what they'd led us to do. "Sookie, I don't have any reason to think that Louisiana is going to force another master on you."

"Someone else could be a problem?"

"I think, _at first_, the temptation will be there until word spreads that you're available for hire... Challenging me and by extension Sophie-Ann for an asset they could simply employ..."

I stopped talking, when she ejected my hand from hers and shot out of her chair... And out of the room...

The smell of her tears was already obvious before she'd reached the door. When I tried to go after her, Pam was already following, leaving Jason standing at the mouth of the corridor sipping a beer with Diantha and Gladiola... His brilliant contribution to the cluster fuck of a situation was that his sister was 'a crier'.

At least the night before, I'd known what had happened, where I'd fucked up...

By 20 minutes after 11 the building had filled with edgy, irate vampires who wanted nothing more than to execute the party responsible for the bombing, but I couldn't have cared less about Arkansas or what would happen to them...

Sookie was feeling too much. She was overwhelmed as a minimum, but the most rampant of her emotions was hostility close to the point of rage... She was at her boiling point and the confusing part of it was that while she seemed to be confiding in Pam behind the locked door of the restroom, Pam was feeling understanding? Sympathetic?

Not only was it unlike Pam to be supportive, but it seemed like whatever I'd said or done had pissed her off too...

A wonderful way to top off an already fucked night.

Eventually, a page was sent, stopping to stand attentively mute by Mr. Cataliades who'd long since joined me in waiting for Sookie.

He mumbled that we were still in negotiations...

As the messenger left us, I finally became aware of the time... Punctuality was a bone of contention as far as the queen was concerned, so I asked about the delay only half caring about the answer.

The lawyer shifted, sandwiching his hands between his back and the wall and somehow smiled reassuringly. "The queen has instructed me that Miss Stackhouse's contributions today make her contract more important than the information. No one will be notified until Sookie is pleased with the terms. We'll wait."

Jason scoffed, "Sookie's crying fit is a rain delay? There's like a hundred folks waiting to get this shit moving!"

The lawyer nodded. "Yes, Mr. Stackhouse. The queen is unwilling to make Sookie's talent public without a formal agreement of protection in place since one vampire already attempted to annex her services before she performed on such a scale as she did today."

Jason shook his head and mumbled 'fuck that noise' as he charged across the room. The Cataliades family and I watched his shoulder hit the bathroom door when he tried to enter, not realizing it was locked. His request to be let in was polite, but faked for the sake of the acute vampire hearing he'd been warned about earlier...

When he was ignored, he dug into his pocket to retrieve a monstrous keyring... He bent to toy with the knob. Normally I'd have laughed at his fuckery since he resembled a monkey with a jigsaw puzzle, but after only a minute or two, I heard him chuckle to himself and push the door open. He barked that Pam and Sookie were getting a 'two minute warning' because their 'aquanet & mascara girlfest' was 'holding shit up'.

Even if I couldn't feel how well that boded with both of them, the rolls of toilet paper that hit him as he left would have made it clear.

Sookie's return only slightly improved my disposition. The numbness she'd wrapped herself in made it seem as though I was in the presence of her ghost. Understanding that she'd done it defensively didn't make it any easier to accept since I was still unsure as to what had happened.

She autonomously signed her contract and gave no reaction to being registered as my pet officially. When the call was made that the meeting was (finally) about to start at 11:45, the common area began to feel less like a den of pit vipers.

As the meeting room was flooded with the mingling inhabitants of the other rooms, Sookie was still redefining the term 'silent treatment'... My only peace came from the normalcy Pam was feeling. Her usual air of superiority was strangely welcome for once.

My worry about Sookie's state was only waylaid by panic...

Jason's introduction to public behavior around vampires had seemed to leave some room for error.

At first I was unsure of what he was doing, but by the time any of us had an idea it was too late to stop him gracefully. It was, for all intents and purposes, like watching a train wreck...

It seemed harmless when he wandered away from our group slightly, like he was simply visiting the bar to get another drink, but as it turned out, he was sneaking up on Hadley.

He'd spotted her from across the room while she was speaking to the less annoying Were from our flight and his choice of greeting left something to be desired...

"Stuck up bitch... Can't even say hi?"

Every eye in the room was on Jason before she turned to slap him...

He chuckled, licking the blood from the corner of his mouth and waited for her to recognize him.

When she did, she grabbed his face with both hands and squealed, "Jason?"

"Even as a vampire and you still hit like a girl... _Five years earns me a fucking hug, dammit_."

She flung her arms around his neck and he picked her up. "I didn't know you'd be here! I was looking for Sook and kept getting sidetracked!"

He laughed at her. "Well, _surprise_. I didn't know until last night either… Hey, you're _cold_."

"Vampires tend to be. _It freak ya out?"_

"You kiddin? Remember when you worked at Dairy Queen? Free ice cream and a cool hug after ball practice... _You look great_. You put some weight on before you died." Unfuckingbelievable. That dolt acted as though becoming a vampire was akin to dying her fucking hair.

She was still laughing when he set her down.

Even if I wanted to try to understand how he could've changed his perspective on vampires in the last 3 hours, I'd have been distracted by Sookie's lack of reaction...

While Hadley was the center of attention due to her public and impossibly rare reunion with living family, Sookie watched blankly. Seeing Hadley after more than 5 years wasn't even stirring the conflicted emotions she'd had when she learned about Hadley's child.

When Jason summoned Sookie over to join the reunion with a shrill whistle that 4H would be proud of, Pam leaned to whisper, "She'll be fine. Stop worrying."

_"She's a nothing."_

"She's just trying to get through the meeting."

"What happened?"

"She was worried that... It occurred to her that since Compton was an obstacle... That he'd tried to keep her for himself…"

"That I'd be as expendable?"

Pam nodded. "She wasn't expecting to return to the house tonight... Finding out that she's safe and doesn't have to choose..."

"Choose what? New Orleans or Shreveport?"

"New Orleans to make sure you're left alone."

"No." That's all I could manage... The idea that she'd have walked away from her life and into unimaginable scenarios of servitude for my safety was utterly inconceivable.

"Yes... And everything else would be considered girl talk and you'll have to torture me to get any of it."

"I might."

"Liar. Maybe now you'll stop questioning why the other you said that she was what you'd been waiting for." _Snooping bitch_.

"What _he'd_ been waiting for."

"Whatever."

"I told you not to do that in public."

"What public? Everyone in the room is watching the first vampire family reunion in history. We might as well set ourselves on fire."

"Why don't you try it? I'll take notes on who notices."

"Fine. I'll shut up, but you know I'm right."

"About what?"

"I thought we weren't talking about it."

"Did she say anything about what happened in the car?"

"Fuck. You're worse than a girl."

"You should know better than to think I'm in the mood for this shit, Pam."

"Yes. She's furious."

"Perfect."

"Just because of how... She had an audience, she couldn't enjoy it, she doesn't know if you did it just to keep her safe or if you'd want to bond with her anyway…"

That settled my own concerns, since it turned out that we were bothered by the same things...

"…She has a lot of Bill baggage too."

"Baggage?"

"Nope. Girl talk."

"I can have your house skunked again."

"I'm thinking about moving anyway."

"Seriously?"

She shrugged. "I owe her. She'll talk about it when she's ready."

For the second night in a row, Sookie and I served as Andre's mystery guests as he addressed an assembly.

The waiting crowd anxiously waited for Andre to make his point and get to the information they cared about since his shtick started by reminding everyone who I was...

Then explaining that Sookie is mine and nearly everyone in attendance gaped at him like he'd grown an extra head when he explained Sookie's protection...

Continuing to why it mattered to any of them...

By the time he'd explained everything from the spy Sookie had supposedly found in Fangtasia to the list of all 19 vampires who'd been identified (15 were thanks to Sookie) she was finally starting to feel something...

Self-conscious.

106 vampires, weres, witches and daemons were staring at her. I'd counted out of boredom. They hung on every word Andre had to offer, but Sookie was the reluctant backdrop.

Once Andre was done making Sophie-Anne's position on Threadgill's future crystal clear, he turned the podium over to Cataliades to stand with us...

Without preamble, the lawyer read a long list of vampires. The roll call ended with both Berts, Andre and the queen herself, and his role in the gathering was to announce that everyone named owed Sookie a debt because they had all been in a room that would have been exposed to daylight if the human rescue workers hadn't been stopped by her. Not that vampires tend to make much noise or redundant movement in general, but the stark stillness of the room was palpable. Even if any of them wanted to dispute owing a favor to a human, the queen had herself named...

Having her name added to Sookie's list of banked favors was practically a dare for anyone else to refuse on Sophie-Ann's part...

All of which was punctuated when the meeting was over. As Andre took his leave, he and I exchanged official nods, but he turned to Sookie and bowed.

_Bowed_.

I could tell that it pained him. Pam's loftier than thou attitude paled in comparison to his... But it served to drive the point of how seriously Sookie was to be taken.

Considering the day's events, apologies were made for the queen and we were once again put off for another night before Sookie would meet her.

Unfortunately, it would have been poor form to head straight for the door when we were finished. Pam tried to soften the blow by bringing a drink heavy in rum to Sookie... Then another...

Sookie was starting to relax, albeit slightly as the rum started doing its job.

Since the conclusion of the announcements, everyone in the room had been on their phones... Texting. Calling. Emailing. As they finished, most of them came over to introduce themselves to Sookie and ask me about her availability. The bombing served as the perfect stall tactic... I'd gotten more than 60 new email addresses so that I could contact them in bulk once Sookie and I could make decisions on how to handle the details.

_At least that aspect of our lives would be less of a battle than our counterparts._

Relaxed enough after her third 'Rum Runner' that she nearly fell asleep in the car, but still too numb for my taste, Sookie quietly slipped up the stairs to her room.

While I stood at the kitchen counter drafting Paulette's to-do list for the day, I could feel Sookie's numbness fall away. Since I'd been followed so that Pam could add her own errands for Paulette, she noticed that my hands were shaking at nearly the same time that I did. I was sure that it didn't have anything to do with alcohol... Sookie was finally feeling everything she'd managed to delay and the fact that her reaction to it all was enough to cause my hands to tremble made me worry about if she was stable enough to finish her shower.

Pam was just as attentive. While Jason obliviously wandered from room to room, continuing his reunion with Hadley on his cell phone, Pam and I stood in the foyer listening for signs that Sookie might need help. Once we heard Sookie turn off the water and leave the bathroom, Pam offered to babysit Jason so that I was free to go to upstairs. I waited, giving her the chance to make fun of me...

I had no fucking idea of how to react when she didn't take the opportunity.

I hadn't had the chance to knock yet before I heard my invitation.

I didn't bother myself with wasting time. Rather than wonder if she'd mind, I laid on the bed behind her and I couldn't help but smile when she felt comforted by my being there.

Her hand took mine from her waist and pulled it up to her chin and wrapped herself around my arm. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

"Freaking out, making you feel like a security system instead of a friend, freaking out again... _I'm sure that made you look great.._."

"I was unhappy about the exchange for the same reasons you were, but I'd only regret it if you thought I had taken advantage of you... That's what I was worried about at the Abbey. Not my image, that you might think I'd tricked you into taking more of my blood."

"I know better than that by now." Hearing that made me feel better even if I didn't want to think about why.

"You were furious... It felt as though you were ready to kill someone."

"I was, but Bill's already dead."

"Then how were you angry at him?"

"I thought about him."

"That's all it took for you to decide he should die a third time?" I almost laughed.

"I thought about him while I was looking at you and _I fucking hate him for it_." If Pam knew that Sookie's answer had made me wish I'd paid attention to her farcical advice column rhetoric, I'd hear about it forever.

"Is this part of the 'Bill baggage' Pam mentioned?"

"If I hit _you_ really hard, will she feel it?"

"Not enough to get your point across. She refused to tell me anything though... Is it?"

"Yeah... I trust you, but every now and then, like when you didn't want to answer me last night, I get suspicious... I know right away that it's because of him and as soon as that lying ass is in my head I can't help it... I wish I could go back and just steer clear of him, let the Rattrays have him, kill him myself."

"That will fade with time though."

"Good."

"_Good?"_

"Yeah, if I'm going to be randomly thinking about someone, I'd rather it was you."

_"I am much sexier than he was."_

Her giggle was interrupted by a long yawn. "You are, but I meant because I have fun with you... You're one of my favorite people." Sookie was definitely my favorite person, but since Ginger and Bobby were the only other humans I spoke to on a regular basis, I didn't think hearing the fact would make any kind of impression on Sookie.

"Oh really? Who do I rate with?"

"Gran."

"She'd be the obvious front runner. Who else?"

She didn't answer... I spent most of her silence trying to think of who she didn't want to mention before I realized that I was being an idiot... She wasn't avoiding the question... She didn't have another answer.

"I'm in the top 2?"

"_Oh shit_... Here we go. Watch it. You're almost too big for doorways as it is. Don't let your ego get too out of control." Too late.

"Shit?"

"What?"

"You said shit. Earlier you said fuck."

She giggled. "So? I said that I don't cuss a lot... Not never."

"Then say 'cum'."

She blushed so thoroughly that the only visible part of her face, her ear, was glowing. "I say come all the time."

I took advantage of where she put my hand to tighten my arm around her, pulling her back into me. "Not 'come over for a visit', Sookie... 'I want to see the face you make when you cum'."

She'd have been lying to deny that she was remembering how taking my blood had felt. "Sorry. I'm still waiting for diagrams. Not tonight."

Somehow, I chuckled at her stall tactic. "Fair enough... It's almost dawn. Can I get a kiss goodnight?"

"What if I don't want you to go?"

She must've been operating under the belief that I _wanted_ to leave her...

She was surprised when I lifted her from the bed, but didn't say anything until I set her down on mine.

"What are you doing?"

"Accepting your terms."

"I don't remember terms... _Definitely not any that put me in your bed_."

"This way you don't have to say goodnight."

I expected her to argue, even if it wouldn't have been seriously, but she watched me partially undress and when I slid into the bed she stared at me for a moment before she moved the blanket out from under herself...

She paused, still propped up on her elbows and staring before she finally laid her head on the pillow...

She might as well have said that she was waiting for me to 'misbehave' since everything about her mood reminded me of the way she felt when we were bargaining for her panties. It was a struggle to not laugh at her.

She finally rolled to her side to face me. "What are you smirking at?"

"You're waiting for something I don't have time to enjoy. Calm down. I _might_ have 5 minutes left."

"You don't need that much time to make me blush... That seems to be your new favorite sport."

I let her know how right she was about how easy it was to make her blush by reaching under the covers and removing the pants I'd left on solely for the sake of her modesty. By the time they were on the floor, she was glowing again. "9 seconds might be my new record."

She gasped, "ERIC!"

That's when I finally laughed. "What? It's not as though I'm exposed at all."

"That's not the point..."

"I have time to make you cum too."

"I don't think so..."

"That wasn't a dare, was it?"

"No."

_"It sounded like one."_

She laughed, flopping onto her back and calling me a butthead. She stared at the ceiling for long enough that sunrise was becoming an issue for me. "Eric?"

"Too late. The offer expired."

"I was just checking to see if you were still with me." _With her..._

"Barely."

She moved suddenly, putting herself on her knees against my side to hover for only a fraction of a second...

I was too surprised to react when her lips first met mine. Afraid I was in for just a peck, I reached up to hold on.

Her kiss became a nibble...

Her nibble led to a lick...

And by the time her tongue had made its way to mine, the idea of dawn disgusted me more than ever before...

I wanted more...

I needed more...

More time.

More of Sookie.

I could feel her heart racing in every part of my body.

The scent of what our kiss was doing to her filled my senses even if I couldn't be sure whose depraved aching was whose...

And when she hummed into my mouth, my fangs' sudden appearance did nothing to scare her away...

Her hand followed my arm up to untangle my fingers from her hair as though she could tell I didn't have much time left... She laced her fingers into mine and the only break in our kiss was when she pulled away just enough to whisper 'goodnight'.


	7. Chapter 7

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 7**

**Unfair**

Sookie.

My room. My bed. Me…

Everything reeked of her.

And I could still taste her…

When I tried to feel for her, I realized that feeling her was much easier than it had been yesterday… At least something positive had come of our exchange…

Sookie was only a few feet away, so calm that her mood could've sedated me… She was sleeping… her every function was in rhythm… _harmonic_.

Suddenly, getting to her room was all I could think about.

I didn't even bother buttoning my jeans on my way… The only reason I bothered to put _anything_ on was because I could hear Jason and Paulette talking in the kitchen.

I paused only long enough to consider whether to knock, deciding not to risk waking her because I could have more fun sneaking up on her.

I should've knocked.

I should've considered what she could have been doing before she laid down.

I should've closed the door again as soon as I saw her little blue bikini…

Anything but let the scent, _that scent_ reach me.

She'd been sunbathing.

The room was so overpowering that it might never air out completely and it was heavier with each bittersweet step I took. The first time had been bad enough, but I knew that behaving wasn't going to be an option for long… I'd been able to ventilate the limo…

I was drawn to her…

I was careful to not touch her, but kept only a hair's width between her perfectly tanned skin and my nose as I inched up her body.

Ankles…

Knees…

Thighs…

Hard enough to hurt, but trying to control myself to some degree.

The irresistible combination of sunlight and the sweetness that her pussy had to offer gave me reason to linger over the little triangle of her bathing suit until I felt her hand on the back of my head.

She sighed sleepily that I shouldn't get ahead of myself so I growled at her for not realizing that it was far too late for that warning… I was already gone.

Since she'd already woken up, I stopped resisting the urge to touch her and as my hands roamed, she worked her fingers through my hair.

No matter how I moved, I elicited some response that only encouraged me whether she meant to or not…

Little moans, sighs, gasps, the occasional giggle…

If it wasn't for the look on her face when I reached it, I'd have been tempted to start over again.

Even if the smell of her excitement hadn't become just as obscene as the virtual sunlight in the room, her eyes were saying 'fuck me' by themselves.

Her hands had found the small of my back to let her thumbs dance back and forth, hypnotizing enough without her legs wrapped around mine…

She almost had the chance to smile before I kissed her… lowering completely, enjoying her heat while her tongue pulsed against mine until she needed to breathe again.

She sighed into my ear when I tasted her neck, just her skin's flavor was enough. "Are you almost done getting your fix?"

"Not nearly."

"I need to get in the shower." Over my dead body.

"No. No. No." I didn't notice until I heard myself that I was between whining and begging.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep."

I moved my hips, grinding into her, enjoying the friction as much as she did. "I don't mind."

"I don't want to…"

"Don't lie."

"Not like this… not when you're barely in control."

"You aren't scared." _Not at all. Far from scared… she was so wet that I could feel it._

"That's not the point. Eric, let me up. _Please_."

I groaned against her neck, reaching back to lift her leg and push against her. "What if I don't want you to go?"

She whimpered, making me think I might be winning… "I don't want to like this. _Everything_ is because something else has been going on to push us together. Aren't you sick of it too?" I might have been before I saw her laid out in her blue string bikini… the sight of polka dots might make me hard for a while because of it.

"Not sick enough it seems."

She moved her hands and legs away from me, resting them on the bed. "Eric. Come on. Let me up."

"I'm not sure that I can, Sookie." I didn't want to go anywhere, ever. The only thing between me and what I wanted was a tiny triangle of damp fabric since my jeans were barely on anymore. The rest of New Orleans could burn down around us and I couldn't have cared less.

I waited for her to reply. Something. Anything.

She gave me nothing.

I tried to get another reaction out of her, even an involuntary one and still nothing…

Nothing.

_The most intentional and infuriating nothing imaginable. _

The idyllic cocoon she'd created was ruined the moment I realized that she was hiding.

She fucking used me to hide from me…

Knowing that I wouldn't, couldn't get any pleasure out of being with her relatively lifeless body, she'd managed to win the debate by not being present for it. And the only fucking way to tell her how unfair that was, was to break contact with her…

_And she fucking knew it._

Luck was the only reason that I wouldn't have to replace every fucking thing that I touched between Sookie's room and mine. Unless hangers needed to be counted, the only casualty was my closet door.

Just 10 minutes earlier, I wouldn't have dared to squander the scent that I'd managed to take with me. I'd skipped a shower just a few days before to save _**her**_ scent… but as it was, I couldn't get rid of it fast enough. All it was doing was reminding me of the lengths she'd go to to get her way.

I was putting on my shoes when Sookie knocked on my bedroom door.

When I ignored her in the hopes that she'd get the hint and just go the fuck away, she let herself in.

Freshly bathed, dressed in a light pink dress and matching heels… and looking much less penitent than I thought was fitting.

"You have every right to be pissed."

"Well, thank you, Miss Stackhouse for your permission."

"Don't be like that. I'm sorry."

"Good. Are you done?"

"No."

"Why am I not surprised? What else could you possibly want?"

"I couldn't think of anything else that would stop you."

"Why stop me?"

"Is that what you're mad about?"

"No. I'm fucking furious that you'd hide from me, but I'm interested. Why _did_ you stop me? You wanted to fuck just as much as I did."

"Because this scares the hell out of me. I want to be sure that I want to."

"As opposed to me encouraging it? Because I'd force what I want on you?"

"Stop that! No… We may very well end up being the couple that Pam's desperate to make fun of, but I don't want to just jump into bed with you and put wishes under my pillow that Chaos theory, the butterfly effect, whatever is going to end up in our favor like it did for those Twilight Zone uses… too much has happened."

"So correct me if I'm wrong, but what you're saying is that you want to be with me, but because of the butterfly effect, you're afraid to **not** push me away. Brilliant."

"You're being crappy… I'm trying to explain and you're making fun."

"You've already given me permission to be pissed. You're free to leave if you don't want to hear my fucking opinion."

"I told you that I'm sorry. I didn't want to just get it over with like sharing blood last night."

"Do you want me to be angry about not fucking? Because that's how you're making it seem."

"No."

"Because for the record, I've been **not** fucking you since we met."

"I know that, but…"

"What also hasn't been happening is me harming you or ignoring your opinion."

"I know… and I have absolutely no freaking clue of how to deal with that!" If she was looking for sympathy she picked the wrong bedroom.

"You either blacked out to avoid explaining your position to me because you thought I wouldn't listen or you hid from what you figured I wasn't in control of stopping."

"I figured that you'd be able to shake it off if you let go of me so I could come back…"

"Since the last thing I wanted to do after you hid from me was to touch you, congratulations are in order. Get out."

"No."

"Sookie, you don't want to push me right now." I sat down in the chair in the corner of my room, wholly jealous of her ability to block out her surroundings.

"I'm not trying to. I wasn't hiding from you or what you'd do… I thought it would force us both to calm down, not piss you off… I was taking a time out. I was too caught up. I would've had sex with you right then and there." She made it sound like fucking would be the most horrid thing she'd ever suffered.

"Instead, you hid… just like you did last night…" She walked over to me tentatively and knelt at my feet.

"I was trying to not embarrass you last night. I thought you understood that."

"Not at the Abbey… You waited until the last minute to kiss me… You aren't _genuinely_ scared of me, but you keep going through these cowardly motions…"

"Why don't you leave the mind reading to me? **You suck at it**… _I wasn't hiding last night_… I would've kissed you in my room, but you brought me in here… I waited for you to suggest it again, but… unless you're foggy because it was so close to dawn, _I did kiss you."_

"Then what? Did you regret it? Spend your day wishing you hadn't?"

She shrugged, looking to the floor and feeling somber. "Then, I cried." _I_ _usually knew better than to ask questions I didn't want the answer to… Fuck._

"Lovely."

"_You asked…_ What was I supposed to do? You died right in front of me. I'm not allowed to have a reaction to that?" Knowing that I die _every_ morning… _she cried seeing me_… NO. I wasn't about to let myself become maudlin about that shit…

"You're supposed to fucking talk to me instead of taking extreme measures to avoid it."

"I know."

"You know? You know, but you still do it."

"It's… You'll just think I'm making excuses."

"This is perfect. You're apologizing for not explaining… and refusing to explain."

"I'm not refusing… Do you have any idea how many feelings I've had to talk myself out of just to stay sane? _I'm not normal_… these past few days are the most normal I've ever felt, but now I'm dealing with new batch of weirdness."

"Are you going to explain that?"

She rubbed her hands over her face and then stared at the ceiling for a moment before trying. "Telepathic barmaid doing her damnedest to not stand out. I had a Shifter boss and I went home every night to my best friend who just so happened to be my grandmother. I didn't go out. I didn't date. I didn't have many friends… I'd have given anything to trade places with Jason. I can't tell you how many times I'd serve beer to him and his friends and wish I could just hang out and have fun screwing around like he does… Now, all of a sudden, I can be myself and I don't have to worry about everyone I meet being scared of me… I used to get treated like a whore in church, now that I'm around y'all, it's kinda like being a doctor. No one minds knowing someone like me, ya know?" _Finally, an honest fucking answer._

"I can recognize that."

She looked up at me, completely puzzled. "Really?"

"Really. Even though you skipped over the ghastly middle of that synopsis, I can understand that you're making a huge adjustment… I'm sure you're dealing with a certain amount of culture shock."

She nodded, fixating on my shoes it seemed. "This is so weird… I just… the more time I spend with you, the more I believe all of the other stuff, but… just trying to pick up where their story dropped off seems stupid to me."

"That's all you had to say."

She looked at me again, giving me a raised eyebrow. "Uh-huh."

"I wouldn't have forced you."

"You wouldn't have had to… One more minute and I would've caved."

"Caved? _You still won't say 'cum'?_"

Her head fell forward while she giggled and called me a 'giant pervert' again. I had no idea how, but… I wasn't angry anymore… I'd been ready to take her back to Bon Temps, sending her back to her life… believing for a foolish moment that she wasn't worth the trouble… That her ability was her only selling point. That whatever had made the other Sookie worth keeping had been broken at some point in those few days since our paths diverged… _An incredibly foolish moment. _In just over two weeks, that Sookie regarded her life as being 'turned upside down' with an impish smile on her face that made my Sookie look ill. 'Upside down' would be a fitting description for both, but in two very different manners.

I would wait… fucking her, while the prospect could make me hard if I spent more than a moment imagining it, could wait… I wouldn't be able to convince myself that being with Sookie meant as little as any of the countless insignificants that had crossed my path. I wouldn't be able to convince myself that the taste of her blood wasn't worth craving.

I wanted it all, more than fucking and feeding… because she was already more than a pet.

When I'd been mistaken for the other Sookie's Eric, she wrapped herself around me. She was the embodiment of trust in me… most profoundly, the way she smiled when she laid eyes on me was probably the principal motive for my patience…

I reached down to take her hand, leading her into my lap… Once her eyes met mine again, I was reminded of how fucked I was. I still had plenty of questions to be sure… and I'd eventually get answers. I'd eventually know everything.

The way she settled into my lap was almost childlike… sideways, knees pulled up and together with her feet tucked between my legs so that she could face me, waiting for me to say something…

The only thing I could think of, the first thing to mind was to ask her to promise to explain instead of hide… plainly, simply… even as I was shrugging off my earlier anger, I couldn't pinpoint why I'd been so bothered that she'd shut me out, but since she too eagerly promised not to as long as she could 'help it', I didn't spend too much time thinking about it.

I was more preoccupied with trying to remember the last time I'd accepted or believed an apology…

I couldn't shake the notion that the answer to the question might have been never.

Sookie was still content to sit on my lap when there was a knock on my bedroom door.

"Hey Sook?" Her brother. At least he had the sense to knock.

She groaned, "What?"

"You ask him yet?"

"Not yet."

"Oh. Alright… Hurry up though. Hadley's gonna want an answer when she gets here… Um, you know you left your phone on the counter, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Someone call?"

"Well, yeah… Arlene. I picked up to say hi. She's all kinds of upset. Thinks you quit because of her, well, all the stuff with Rene. You should call her back."

"Alright. Thanks..." She waited for him to leave and as she did, she began feeling guilty and confused. "Hadley wanted to go out tonight. Since we didn't get to do much talking, she decided that going out dancing with a couple of her friends would be a more relaxing visit." Who the fuck cared?

"You quit working for Merlotte?"

She narrowed her eyes. "_Yeeaaaahhhhhhh_."

"When were you going to mention that?"

"I knew it! I _**did**_ tell you… In the limo. I haven't really spent any time thinking about it since though since things have been so crazy… _I knew you weren't hearing a word I said_." I was actually slightly embarrassed. I'd known that I 'missed' what she'd been saying, but I'd taken for granted that it was unimportant.

"I was distracted. Why did you quit?"

"He flipped out when he saw that I was healed. I could've hit him when he told me that I 'stink like vampire'… He told me that missing Gran wasn't a good enough reason to spend all of my time with dead people… He pushed my last button so I told him that I wasn't his problem anymore."

"Were you ever?"

"No. He thought I was. He's got a thing for me."

"A thing?" I was tempted to ask if 'hard on' was on her list with 'cum'.

"Yeah. He didn't do anything about it until I was spending time with a vampire either. Too little, too late. He's just too big brothery anyway, I guess."

"So you assumed that you'd do well enough during our trip that you wouldn't need that income anymore?"

"No. I wasn't really thinking about anything but running him over with his own truck at the time. I started to worry about things after he left, but I figured that if the contract thing didn't pan out and that clinic thing was a bust, that I'd just start putting in applications when we got back."

"Would you have applied at Fangtasia?"

"Not right away. That's a long commute… I need to call Arlene, I guess. I'm just not sure how to tell her why I quit."

"Why do you care?"

She shrugged. "I've known her for a long time and she's pretty upset right now about the Rene thing. I don't want her to think I blame her for it. I can read minds and didn't know until it was too late… What do you think about Hadley's plans?"

"Why ask me?" The idea that she was asking for permission offered a bizarre bittersweet sensation… hopes that she was getting closer to feeling like I was her master mixed with fears that she was breaking too easily.

"Because I couldn't think of a reason to not go, but I didn't want Jason to leave a voicemail for her and then have to back pedal if I missed something…"

"You don't want to go."

"It's not that I don't want to go, I just think that going out to a noisy bar to catch up is silly when we could just hang out at her apartment or something."

"Security concerns me."

Her grin made it obvious that she was hoping I'd keep her from going. "She told Jason that with the bombing and all, the Berts would be babysitting."

"Who are her friends?"

"Dunno." I didn't like that the friends were unknowns, but it didn't matter since I wasn't fond of the idea of spending the evening without Sookie if I could help it.

"If the Berts will be there and the queen approves of her friends I suppose that you'll be safe enough."

"I'd feel safer if you were there."

"Me?"

"Yeah… It's not likely that I'll have much fun with them."

"Why wouldn't you? You could keep your shields up long enough to visit with her in public."

"It's not my shields. Her and Jason were always really close. I'd be a fifth wheel."

"You want me to join so that I can chaperone and be your excuse to leave early?"

"No. If I'm going to go out, I'd rather go out with someone I trust and have fun with so that the evening isn't wasted."

"I could simply tell her that you aren't allowed."

"How would that look though? If you kept your pet from visiting with her family when she's the queen's child?"

"I don't care."

"You don't want to go."

"No more than you do, it seems."

She frowned and nodded in agreement. "If it was just the three of us, I'd be able to convince myself that it's a family obligation and just do it…"

"You're irritated that she's bringing friends along."

"Yeah, well, wouldn't you be? I mean, she's kinda making it feel like she wants a buffer."

"Isn't that the role you're asking me to fill?"

"Not really. I'd rather hang out with you anyway."

"Hadley and Jason may very well feel uncomfortable being in a social setting with me."

She snorted, "Don't care."

"We'll go then."

"Really?" The look on her face was amusingly disgusted.

"I'd feel better about your safety if I'm there anyway."

"You don't trust the Berts?"

"I don't trust anyone."

"You know what I mean."

"They have their priorities. I have mine."

"If something happens, then Hadley would be their first priority…"

"And you're mine."


	8. Chapter 8

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 8**

**Paint It Red**

Jason came back to my bedroom door again, but by then, Sookie already knew that we had company.

Plenty of it, actually…

She'd felt 6 vampires arrive in 2 cars…

Her brother grunted through the door when Sookie asked 'what now?' before he had the chance to knock.

"Hadley's here. Do you have an answer for her?"

Sookie huffed, slowly removing herself from my lap to straighten her dress and quietly curse at a few small wrinkles… "Yeah, Jason. I do."

"Well?"

She rolled her eyes and stomped over to swing the door open. "Why don't you just let me answer her?"

"That's it. I'm telling her that you don't wanna go. I'm not going out with you if you're going to be a…" He glanced over her shoulder in my direction before he finished cautiously. "…Grump."

"I wouldn't be _grumpy_ if you hadn't been lurking around in your room _**thinking**_ about whether I should go at all…"

"Damn it, Sook! You gotta stop doing that shit!"

"No I don't."

"That ain't fair. I don't even ask you what you're thinking and you just barge into my head."

She snorted, shoving by him. "I don't see what you're complaining about. There's room in there to host the World Cup."

When I laughed, he gave me an insulted look. "Hey, how come I gotta be nice if she can talk to me like that?"

"I told you that I wouldn't tolerate it if you hurt her. Bickering isn't the same as making her feel like an amoral slut."

"I didn't… Oh shit! I didn't mean… Fuck." _One of the great minds of the 21__st__ century._

"You might not have meant it, but that's exactly what you did. Be more careful."

"Yeah… Yeah. Shit… alright."

"Why don't you think she should go?"

He took a couple steps, and lowered his tone as though Sookie didn't already know. "Hadley's still really freaked out about the mind reading… She's worried that Sookie can get her into trouble by hearing her thoughts."

"Someone _has_ told her that Sookie can't hear vampires, haven't they?"

"She doesn't believe it and she thinks Sookie's gonna be a buzzkill since she's kinda uptight."

"That's funny."

"How's that funny?"

"Because she's taking two 800 year old bodyguards with little grasp of the English language out to a bar the night after a vampire hate bombing… She hasn't seen uptight yet."

Jason looked like he actually understood the irony when Sookie stuck her head back into the room on her way to the stairs with her purse in hand. "Hey, Eric. Mind if I invite Hadley in? Jason left her waiting on the stoop."

"If she has any manners at all, she won't enter until I invite her. It's a courtesy."

She grinned with a nod. "_I like that since y'all don't need to be invited and all_… I'm ready when you are then."

_Hadley__ didn't have any manners._

She was waiting in the foyer even though Wybert had the courtesy to remain outside.

She watched Sookie come down the stairs, fixated on the sight of Sookie holding my hand for some reason.

I offered a reasonable greeting and invitation to enter even if Wybert's presence was baffling.

"I understand that you have plans tonight?"

"Yeah." Lovely. '_Yes, Sheriff'… 'Yes, sir'…_ even '_Yes, Eric'_ would have been more proper, her ill-tempered pitch was another matter altogether.

"Could you elaborate? I can't read your mind."

"_At least someone can't_... I wanted to introduce them to some of my friends. Do a little dancing."

"Who are the friends? Any bar in particular?"

"What are you, my father?" Wybert's eyebrows rose with his surprise and Pam muttered _'oh no she didn't'_ from where she was eavesdropping in the kitchen.

"The friends."

She rolled her eyes. Young as she was, infantile even, she _**had**_ to know better. "My friend Jake is a Were. He's with triple E. They met him already. My neighbor is a witch. Amelia."

"No vampires?"

"Just me and the Berts."

"Six vampires just arrived. Who are the other four?"

Another petulant eye roll. "Sophie-Ann, Andre Siegbert and Rasul." Rasul would explain why Sookie was feeling a 'small' bubble since he'd barely seen a century.

"When did you plan on leaving? Sookie and I are expected to…"

She waved her hand dismissively, forgetting that even if her maker was a queen, she was nothing. "Yeah, yeah, yeah… _Sookie needs to see Sophie-Ann…_ I know. That's why they're here. They're _paranoid_ about being in one place for too long."

Sookie smiled, but didn't mean it. "A mobile conference room, huh? Smart… They're waiting in the car or…?"

"Yeah. I'm supposed to sit here like a luggage check while y'all talk. Then we can go out."

Feeling excluded from the 'grown up talk' wasn't an excuse. "Wybert, you're watching over her?"

"Brodder's lucky day."

The indignant look on Hadley's face while the rest of us chuckled was almost worth suffering her attitude.

We weren't given the chance to settle.

The queen was gazing through the window almost like she wasn't there. Andre started in immediately without introducing Sophie-Ann to Sookie. "You'll need to contact the other sheriffs. They're interested in booking your pet like a traveling circus."

"Cirque de Sookie should tour before we return to my area?"

"Salome mentioned that she'd pay any price. With more than 600 employees at her casino alone, she desires some assurances. She suggested that I was lying when I told her how quickly Miss Stackhouse found our problems. How have you seen to your assets?"

"I have Weres blending in with the protesters at Fangtasia as a safeguard. Contingency witnesses and nothing more. They're to track anyone who attacks so that I can identify which faction they're with before they're disposed of."

"Were witnesses, witch housekeepers, faerie pets… you certainly are an equal opportunity employer."

"I try."

Andre tilted his head slightly. "You aren't surprised to hear that she's Fae."

"Why would I be?"

"Because if she's anything like her cousin, the taste is so faint that it's difficult to place. Do you know something about her heritage?"

"No. Her taste led me to the assumption. There aren't but so many options… Is it safe to say that you'd be interested in news if I learn anything?"

Sophie-Ann finally joined the conversation. "Yes, please. Curiosity is getting the best of us when it comes to their genealogy. Specifically, we wonder why Sookie has such a strong talent while her cousin and brother aren't as affected baffles us. At the moment, our working theory is that she might be a natural witch."

I nodded, unsure of how to take how much thought she'd put into Sookie as a subject matter. "We've been told that telepathy is rumored to be a witch characteristic. _My working theory_ is that since birth records haven't shed any light that there must've been an adoption or affair that escaped public records and bible entries."

"That seems like a reasonable theory… Now, Miss Stackhouse. I was told that you had a strong reaction to reading your contract, but you signed it anyway."

"Yes, ma'am… It had been a long day and the clause about injury coverage took me by surprise. My nerves were just shot. I'm sorry." _Outstanding_. Completely unrehearsed, but still the perfect answer… If she had blamed the money aspect, she'd have been undermining her value and honesty wasn't an option. And Sookie had the manners to address the queen with respect instead of 'uh-huh', not that I was surprised...

"No need to apologize. We were all on edge."

Sookie nodded humbly. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you for understanding."

"You're welcome. So now that I fully understand why Arkansas isn't a fitting spouse in any sense of the word, is there anything else I should know?"

Sookie gnawed at her lip while she thought about her answer. "Ummm, not that I can think of… except, Waldo is jealous enough of Hadley that he's willing to hurt her."

"Yes, Andre informed me of that… How did you come by that information?"

"Two of the donors… They were spies of Arkansas. Waldo didn't know they were spies as far as I can tell, but he did approach them to have Hadley drained… got them into the donor pool and planned out her kidnapping… The fact that they were working for Threadgill just made their jobs easier."

"How were they going to kidnap her?"

"Waldo told them that she's really young and weak… That she likes to go out clubbing… They were waiting for her to mention where she was going to be partying and show up to take her."

"He warned them about her vulnerabilities?"

"And to do it closer to dawn so that no one could get to her in time."

"I see."

"I'm sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?"

Sookie shrugged. "I don't know… Mostly because I know how much it sucks to get stabbed in the back by someone I trust."

"Bill Compton." Her tone was accusatory and defensive at the same time.

Sookie shook her head. "He didn't invent lying. Hell, I can't think of anyone that hasn't ever lied. _I would know_."

"Indeed you would. That is actually why I still wanted to meet with you tonight… Now that we've informed our subjects that Arkansas is responsible for yesterday's unfortunate event, we'll need you to stay on here in New Orleans while we plan our volley, of course. Your gift has already proven to give us an upper hand."

Sookie nodded in agreement. "I understand, but if you don't mind..." Sookie waited with raised eyebrows to be invited to share her thoughts. "...Now, I'm only saying anything because I know how humans think. While I was in the crowd yesterday trying to get something useful, I heard that the general consensus is that vampires are really good for tourism here and there were a lot of humans that aren't usually pro-vampire who were at least becoming anti-church. I'm sure you've already thought about it, but I think that your retaliation for yesterday should get blamed on the Fellowship."

Andre hissed, "That's the same cowardly maneuver that Threadgill is guilty of. That isn't..."

Sookie raised her hand from her lap a few inches... It wasn't as though she was trying to dismiss what he was saying though. The gesture seemed to say 'calm down' more than anything. "I understand that, but it was _smart_. If I hadn't been there, y'all might not know that it was Arkansas instead of those activist loons. You guys might've gone after the church in one way or another... I don't think it was gutless as much as brilliant. I think he was banking on your assumptions. That would've led to a butt-load of negative PR for y'all. If you ask me, that was the smartest move he could've made."

Sophie-Ann seemed too amused given the topic and her smile was pissing off Andre. "Then please, explain his stroke of genius."

"He doesn't know about me, or at least he couldn't have before... His little 'army of darkness' bombs you, then leaks to the press about it being the church, the church doesn't want to seem scared or unorganized so they don't deny it, afterwards y'all start quietly retaliating because it's humans you're dealing with, maybe even going after church leaders. It would have lost you guys a lot local support, cutting your own throats in the process... With everything in the toilet, you might've been able to be convinced to marry him... Freaking party time for him, right? You're put in the middle of a press fallout and then when he kills you, the church gets blamed again and this time, he gets sympathy as a grieving widower who just inherited the 'Fang Capitol of the U.S.' to go with a steady cash flow. I'm gonna guess that with certain loyalties, him taking over would go over much smoother if he gets your state 'honestly' rather than as a spoil of war, right?"

"Yes. How is it that you think you know the reasons for why I was considering the wedding?"

"I was trying to get a handle on everything. I didn't understand the reasons for the marriage. Eric told me that it was more of a political treaty than a marriage. I filled in the blanks on my own... Am I completely off base?"

"No. Please continue."

"K... The human aspect of things... If y'all let the 'church' take the blame for your payback, then when Arkansas starts getting thinned out you can cash in on the 'happily ever after' he was wanting without getting your hands dirty publicly, even getting some 'poor vampire' press of your own. Ya know?"

"You understand that plans have been set into motion on many fronts already, yes?"

"Yes'm, but I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to convince everyone to play dumb, maybe even fake some semblance of grief and indignity. Word spreads pretty fast. I have another suggestion."

"That would be...?"

"The church spies that I found at your place, are there any... Are there any _left_?"

Andre rolled his eyes, answering her begrudgingly. "Barely alive in some cases, but yes."

"_Thennnnn_... Maybe y'all could throw out a red herring... Eric mentioned that Little Rock has a vampire owned mall. The Neo Classic. Y'all have a bunch of fallguys. It might take a night or two to line up, but if you get a couple of vans like the ones that the guys here used... Register them to a couple of the nut-jobs y'all have and put 'em in the parking garage with dud bombs in them..."

Andre actually smiled (albeit minuscule enough that Sookie didn't notice) as he interrupted. "...It would go _that much further_ to put the church in the guillotine for our counterattack." That worried me... Andre did NOT impress easily. The queen would play fairly as long as she got what she wanted, but Andre was the only one who could sway her feelings on such matters... If Andre felt like they needed more than what they already had of Sookie, then Sophie-Ann could be persuaded. Fuck.

"Since this Threadgill cat isn't in-the-know about how you could have a supply of disposable bible-bangers, he'd think that they were convenient to _his_ plans... And it'll give you a way to get rid of the rest of them without any attention."

"Explain that."

"If you were to find a house out in the boonies up there and then stage a bomb building accident, the church here can't exactly call you out on it. What are they going to do? Go on the news and say, 'They weren't building bombs in Bryant. We know because they were spying on the Queen in New Orleans so we could start strapping them to crosses at dawn.' No. They suck it up. Take the loss."

They both stared at Sookie for a moment before Andre started trying to hide how awed with her he was. "3 bombs, 2 vans and an abandoned farmhouse?"

"Maybe more dud bombs if there's more vampire friendly businesses there. The mall is the only one that came up... If you put them around town, then it'll look more shameless. Hell, a few duds scattered around your state might help push the point. Salome seems worried enough that she'd play along."

"Among others... I'll need to 'talk' to the bombers about the particulars..."

"Not really. The guy that did the bomb is Romello McPherson. He used ammonium nitrate bombs. He already has more made. He can tell you how to disarm them so they won't actually hurt anyone by going off accidentally."

"You heard that?"

"Yes sir. I listened to the bombers in the crowd while I thought about how to help y'all find them. Romello didn't know that the bombs are for vampires though. Your bombers told that 'prince among men' that they're for mosques."

Sophie-Ann almost snickered. "How did you reach the conclusion that stealing their wallets would be a good idea?"

"Following them wasn't an option once I heard that they were going to walk back, even if getting more separated from Paulette wouldn't have upset Eric. I was already pushing my luck by leaving the house at all... Since I already had a few wallets in my pockets from looking for people, I figured that would do the job. Y'all would have a way to find them and if all their IDs and funds were tied up for a couple of days while they waited for replacement cards, then they'd be staying put."

Both of them switched their focus from Sookie to me and stared for too long before Sophie-Ann spoke. "She might have had too much of your blood to be thinking so much like a vampire." I couldn't have disagreed more. I'd caught myself dwelling on the idea of giving her as much as possible. Most vampires weren't capable of being so unruffled considering present company... That wasn't factoring that she managed to practically plan a clandestine royal reprisal for them.

All I could do was smile. "I was more impressed with how perfect her knowledge of humans is in this case. For us anyway."

Since Sophie-Ann's comment had stirred echoes of the concern we'd both had on our way to the Abbey, my reply eased Sookie's mood. Her grin was sheepish as she joked that she reads 'too much fiction'... And then she sat quietly, patiently, astutely while I discussed some of the more gruesome details of her scheme with Andre and Sophie-Ann.

She didn't fidget.

She didn't speak unless she was spoken to.

She didn't show how uncomfortable she was during some parts of the discussion even if they did alarm and sicken her.

She behaved like the perfect fucking pet.

The only time she broke form was to answer a question meant for me... On our way out of the limo, Andre asked if her training was my doing or Bill's. Sookie snorted and told him that it was 'all' me.

Sookie took the hint and followed me directly to my room without speaking to anyone on our way.

She barely managed to wait until the door was closed behind us before she broke into an excited whisper. "Did I do ok?" _OK_? No… Ok wasn't at all befitting… Setting aside that Pam still didn't behave as well as Sookie did, and that her cousin had been in the company of royalty for her entire vampire existence and still acted like she wanted to be punched for every word out of her mouth… 'Ok' wasn't applicable when I was nearly choking on how proud of her I was.

"You were perfect. Very well done."

"Oh thank God! When we're bonded I'll be able to tell what you're feeling, right? I freaking hate not knowing how I'm doing until after the fact!" Hearing her mention bonding to me caused an immediate shift in my concentration.

I nodded, slowly advancing and enjoying every step away she took like I would a hunt. "That might not be a good thing since you seem to want to be so virtuous."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"You've already said that you almost came earlier..."

She corrected me through gritted teeth, "_CAVED_."

"One in the same... Once you can feel how much I want you, you won't be able to tease me for much longer."

"_I'm not...!_"

"You might not be doing it deliberately, but it's still happening. I won't pretend that this little game of yours isn't fun though."

"I'm not playing a game though, I swear." Her last step put her ass against my dresser.

I lifted her to perch on top of it, wedging myself between her dangling legs but resting my hands flat on the dresser's top. "What would you call it then? You want to fuck me, yet you resist. You let me get this close to you, knowing I can feel and smell what you ache for, but you still put on that smile trying to fool me. Even now, you want me to rip your panties out of my way... You want me to feel how wet I make you. You want me to finger fuck you, rub your clit, bite your thighs, make you scream and squirm with your legs wrapped around my neck until there's no difference between pleasure and pain, until you're a breathless puddle of cum and tears, until you beg for things you're afraid of. You won't be able to last, Sookie. You can't behave long when you're fantasizing about tasting yourself on my fingers, my mouth while I fuck you, fill you, ride you... You're picturing it now... How my cock will look in your hand when you guide it to where you need it to be... watching it disappear into your pussy over and over. You can't close your eyes without seeing everything you want us to do to one another." She was flushed and having chills by the time I was done and feeling her resolve weaken made my craving that much harder to bear.

She cleared her throat trying to force herself to speak, voice cracking, "If you're so sure that I want all of that, then why don't you just do it." She wasn't inviting me. She was challenging how sure I was.

"Because the only thing I won't give you is an excuse to feel helpless."

The lock her eyes had on mine finally fell away from me and she cleared her throat again. "I should go."

I didn't move. "Why?"

"Because everyone is waiting."

"I'm waiting for you to be mine completely. You're waiting to be sure that your feelings are your own. Let them wait a few minutes to go to some ridiculous bar. Why do you want to leave me all of a sudden?"

"I just... Can I do something and not have you read anything into it?" How the fuck does anyone answer that question?

"Maybe." As it left my mouth, it sounded like a question.

She paused, biting her lip before stretching up to put her lips to mine. Her hands drifted along my arms, shoulders, neck, into my hair while she breathed her kiss into me. Assuming that she'd meant that she only wanted a kiss, keeping my hands on the dresser, not pulling her to me, not taking her to the bed became more than a chore. Behaving became a poison. And letting the kiss end could only be compared to drowning. Even though she moved just far enough away to release my lips, I needed her back.

She whispered, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"I'm pretty sure you're the first person to give me any choices."

"I'm not exactly a person."

She started to grin. "If you're going to nitpick at my verbiage, you should've gone with 'choices'. 'Time' would be more fitting, I guess."

"Wet panties would fit too."

She giggled, tugging my hair before she released it. "Alright, pervert. Lemme go get changed so that we can get this outing over with."

"On one condition."

She raised an eyebrow. "Let's hear it."

"Agree to sleep in here tonight."

"Do you even own pajama pants?" Why the fuck would I?

"No."

She rolled her eyes. "_Oooooh, big shocker_... Fine, but I'm wearing PJs." She'd said that as though pajamas acted as a vampire retardant chastity device.

I backed away to let her leave despite myself. "Of course you will, but for how long?"

Changing into jeans and a T-shirt lifted my mood more than usual since the way it felt when Sookie wrapped herself around my bare arms was one of my favorite things about her company... so far.

She was just coming out of her room wearing an amused smile when I emerged. The best part of her black tank top, very short jean skirt and high heels was that she was showing so much of her skin… like her outfit was an invitation. A promise. Proof that she enjoyed contact as much as I did. "I'm gonna kill Pam."

"What has she done now?"

"She left a dress, if you can call it that, on my bed for me to wear tonight."

"Backless and see through?"

She laughed, "_rubber_." Pam wasn't just fucking with Sookie's modesty… She knew how much I detested the glossy emo fangbanger garb… rubber, vinyl, latex, electrical tape… it turned my stomach more than the 'inspired by Bram Stoker' look…

"There's a stake in my office."

She grabbed my hand, still amused and started for the stairs... "Are you gonna dance with me tonight?"

"Is dance another one of your euphemisms?"

"Nope. Standing up, fully clothed, in public, synchronized movement set to music."

"There's still some ambiguity in your definition. Your skirt is short enough that I could easily..."

She snickered and raised her empty hand. "I give up."

"Don't do that. What will I fill my time with if I'm not making you blush?"

"Get a new hobby? I mean, at the rate you're going I'm gonna get numb to it sooner than later anyway."

I 'moped', "You've robbed me of my fun."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "_Ohhh kayyyy_, you win. What could you _easily_ do?" Perfect.

Just before we reached the kitchen door, I grabbed her, lifting her legs to wrap around me... I rubbed her against me while I practically killed myself controlling my fangs to bite along her neck. "Use your imagination, Sookie. Just add music."

Her legs tightened around me as she breathed, "I see your point."

She started to move with me, helping add to the friction until resisting my fangs wasn't an option and I had to leave her neck... Even though they were so close to her ear, she didn't seem to notice hearing them run out... She only returned the 'favor'. Her breath served as a warning just before her tongue started to massage its path... Inch by tortuous inch from just under my ear to follow my jaw...

The heat radiating from between her legs...

Moisture building enough to feel it through her panties and my jeans...

Her nipples were hard enough to feel like tiny stones as they passed over my chest...

Her arms strapped behind my neck so tightly that if I had taken my hands away from her ass she'd have stayed exactly as she was…

I was winning. Even without bonding, without pushing, without influence, she wanted me.

Sookie being mine 'on paper' wasn't going to taunt me for much longer…

When her mouth found its way to mine, she accidentally put a small slice into her lip and it took everything I could muster to convince myself to stop before I lost what little bit of control I had.

Pulling back didn't help. Her body only pressed into mine as she leaned to draw out her kiss by biting my lip…

No. _Pulling back only made the situation seem more inescapable. _

I had to grab her hair, adding to my strain when she whimpered into my mouth. _**Soon**_ wasn't going to happen soon enough.

She still had my lip between her teeth when I made myself drag her face away from mine.

It felt insane to stop.

While her eyes focused, she absently licked a trickle of blood away from her mouth. Her voice trembled, "I hate being rattled."

"You aren't the only one."

"Then why don't I mind when it comes to you?"

"Maybe because you trust me."

"I do, ya know? I mean, there are things about you that scare me… I could go crazy trying to figure out why, _but I trust you_."

I was nodding, about to tell Sookie that I trusted her in return, but we'd been found.

Pam stomped into the foyer… hands on hips… fangs down… doing her best to push her annoyance to me because she knew better than to say that she could feel what Sookie was doing to me with our company within earshot.

Even if she was 'behaving', I could still enjoy her problem instead of dwelling on mine. "Can I help you?"

She widened her eyes, I suppose to underline her unspoken message. "I think your company is getting impatient to leave."

When we reached the kitchen, Jason was sitting on the counter watching Pam as though he'd been glamoured into place.

Since I hadn't had many chores for Paulette, Pam had taken advantage of the maid's unused time. A semi-annual treasure hunt for vintage couture. Paulette's 'impeccable taste' and knowledge of the area's consignment shops always made Pam utterly, comically and horrifyingly cheerful. This 'hunt' produced more 'pretties' than usual. Nearly every surface in the kitchen was draped or stacked with what Pam's figurative dreams were made of... And since she had unabashedly turned the kitchen into her fitting room, 'fashion' was most likely going to be fueling some of Jason's dreams as well.

The fucking idiot was drooling.

I sent the Stackhouses out to the car so that I could deliver an envelope given to me by Andre. I'd received 4 envelopes. Two were addressed to Sookie, another for me and the fourth was for Paulette. No doubt, they were checks for services rendered.

She folded the parcel and put it in her purse while she quickly rattled away the list of chores and errands she'd completed… My real reason for sending everyone to the car ahead of me was to thank Paulette in person for insisting on staying with Sookie rather than let her go to the palace alone…

The moment I sat next to Sookie in the car, Hadley began to ooze contempt.

She hadn't needed to say that she wasn't pleased to have me along, her body language was enough… Her foot shook at the end of her crossed leg, her arms were strapped across her chest and the tone she used when making introductions as the car picked up her friends was provoking at best.

And every few moments, while Sookie was trying to make polite conversation, Hadley rolled her eyes.

The little bitch even made it a point to exaggerate her laughter and volume, becoming louder than reason would allow when I answered a call from Flood. Essentially, the call was to tell me that Sookie had been right.

Fangtasia had been 'attacked'. The Weres stationed at the bar had been mingling with the throngs of quiet protesters when a truck full of 'yahoos' (I could only imagine what that word implied) sped through the parking lot and riddled the bar with Molotov cocktails. Four of the 'peaceful' protesters were injured, but the only property damage was to the bar's sign and the Weres had managed to follow the truck back to a house in Bossier. The other cars in the driveway had 'church' parking passes, but he had a list of license plate numbers and an address so that I could be sure. Instead of being prideful about being right, Sookie was concerned about the injured. So Hadley made fun of Sookie for still being a 'softie'.

I seemed to be the only one to pay any attention to Hadley's behavior for most of the ride. Something told me that since everyone else knew her more personally, they weren't surprised. I was only happy that Pam hadn't wanted to join the 'party'… If it hadn't been for the lure of shopping for accessories, she'd be irritated enough to do something embarrassing or indefensible.

After about 20 minutes, Sookie's mood started to darken… not that it showed. Outwardly she continued to seem just as cheerful and outgoing as she was before her cousin became unbearable company… I was the only one who would know otherwise.

The bar Hadley chose was hideously trendy. The bright colors of the purposely mismatched furniture and the fluorescent clad servers gave the bar the air of being the bastard son of a preschool and a whore house. I almost laughed at the blackboard menu written in glow in the dark chalk.

Hadley walked through the cavernous bar to a large corner booth and made herself comfortable while her entourage filled in around her, but when Sookie moved to sit, I held her back.

Sookie didn't resist or seem to question me in the least. She set her purse on the bench next to her brother and put her hands over where mine held her waist…

"Where are we going?"

I started guiding her to the other side of the bar. "Somewhere more private."

Hadley blurted, "To. Do. What?"

"Since Sookie is mine, that isn't any of your concern."

Sookie continued to stroll in the direction I'd aimed her hips so Jason asked the wrong individual about 'that mine business'.

Hadley snapped, "It basically gives him the right to do whatever he wants to her... _Wherever he feels like doing it_."

I had to grab Sookie, _wrap my arm around her and take her feet from the floor_, to keep her from lashing out at her annoying kin. Not that she made it easy to do without hurting her. She was stronger than I gave her credit for.

Wybert was within arm's reach of her without hesitation. "Problem?"

I didn't have the opportunity to make an excuse before Sookie stopped struggling and answered him quietly. "_That mood she's in..._ Me and Eric were going to find a quiet spot so I can listen for threats and she's trying to get my brother thinking that Eric's draining me in the alley or something. "

Without dispute, the gargoyle turned his attention from Sookie with nothing more than a grunt in reply and glared at Hadley. "Not allowed."

She seethed without comeback while her friends gawked at her... Wybert's nod, as though he was swayed to Sookie's argument made me wonder.

Since the office was locked and the room used as the employees' break area was teeming with bored servers, we found ourselves in the ladies' room...

Sookie's comfort level notwithstanding, the smell was far more favorable than the men's restroom.

Sookie was shaking her head as she slid the stall's lock into place. "I'm so tempted to just call it a night. She's being awful. I know she would've owned me in a fight, but it might've been worth it to slap that nasty mouth of hers." I couldn't argue with her.

"Any clue as to why she's so hostile?"

"I'd have thought about it some if she hasn't always been moody."

"She seemed happy to see you last night though."

"She was probably still thinking that she was happy her maker didn't burn to death in the sun because of how it would've affected her. Whatever is going through her cranial cavity is probably selfishness inspired." Lovely.

"Enough said… The friends?"

"Not a threat."

"Just 'not a threat'? Did you have difficulty reading them?"

"I wish... Amelia might as well be screaming everything she thinks. And Jake is wishing he'd known we were coming so that he could stay home."

"His problem is with my presence?"

"Both of us... He's just scared of you, but he's terrified of doing or saying something wrong around me after last night. I'm 'too important'."

"And the witch?"

Sookie rolled her eyes. "She remembered a long chat she had with Hadley about me... And doesn't see what the big deal is... I'm 'not _that_ bad'."

"You used the word 'screaming' though."

"Not like aggression... Her thoughts are just too clear."

"Is that because she's a witch?"

"Not that I know of... Some normal humans are like that too. The clue that she's a witch is that her thoughts are a little tinted... I'm not sure why yet, but Paulette is more of a heavy haze. Amelia's is barely noticeable."

"Strength, talent maybe?"

She shrugged and held her hands up, waiting for mine. "I'll figure it out eventually... Time to poll the audience."

"I'll be bored."

She giggled, "Bring a book next time."

"Why bring a book when I have a toy?"

"_You are not_ allowed to 'toy' with me..."

"Yes I am."

"When I'm looking for ecstasy dealers and stolen credit cards at Fangtasia, fine... Not when I'm looking for someone who could hurt us."

"Deal." I hadn't been able to utter the word without smiling over my little victory… even if I didn't need her accidental consent to play.

She gasped with a frustrated look on her face and turned around to fold her arms in front of her...

She didn't say anything, but I could feel her concentration... She was pretending to pout while she worked.

"Isn't that less demanding when you're making contact with me?"

"Shhhh."

"Did you just hush me?"

"Shhhh." She drew it out that time.

I stepped closer to run a finger down her spine and whisper into her ear. "Since I'm here, I could help."

"_Trying to focus._"

"_Trying to get something positive out of this outing_."

"By groping me in a bathroom stall? Be careful. _I could swoon_."

"That wasn't groping."

"Sorry, but can we decide on a grammatical standard when I'm not busy?"

"How long do you think you'll be?"

"Just a few more minutes."

"Then we can define 'grope'?"

"Then we can define 'dance', butthead."

As we came from the hall that housed the bathrooms, I watched for Hadley's reaction…

The moment we were in sight, she ever so delightfully rolled her eyes again, but more noticeable was the way the Berts were standing against the wall next to the bar. They were staring at Sookie like they were waiting for something.

She was explaining to them that the only 'problem' was that one of the customers was hoping to start a fight with his ex-girlfriends date when a song that Sookie liked started playing.

She turned to me wearing a smirk that I considered promising and nodded towards the empty dance floor…

Dancing.

I could think of much better ways to be that close to Sookie than dancing … So I decided to play.

When my hands slid down to cup her ass, pulling her closer, she reached back to move them to rest in the arch of her back and giggled 'grope'…

When I moved them once more to turn her around and take hold of her breasts, again, she giggled 'grope' as she adjusted them to her waist…

But when I used her back being turned as an excuse to reel her in, putting her ass against my dick while she did more dancing than I did, she did nothing to discourage me.

She overlapped our hands to lace our fingers together and slowed down to lay her head back against my chest.

Turning around so that our backs would be to her family, I took one of her hands, leading it to my cock and squeezed her hand over it.

"Yeah, that's a grope too." There was no giggle that time.

She suddenly cared as little about dancing as I did.

When I hunched over to put my mouth next to her ear and run my fangs out, her breathing hitched. I watched her skin prickle… starting at the corner of her shoulder, dragging my fangs along the contours of her neck… "What would that be called?"

She released a ragged breath. "A tease." _Tease?_ My dick twitched under her hot little hand.

"Not exactly. I'm willing."

"Given where we are though… _torment?"_

"If it means that much to you, call it a promise."

Sookie slid onto the bench wearing a friendly smile, most likely hoping that no one would mention that most of her blood volume was in her face. "Hey y'all, what'd I miss?"

The four of them shared a round of looks before Jason cleared his throat to answer. "Uh, Hadley was just telling me about what a pain it was to light proof her apartment. She had to have walls built." Considering that she'd risen to the need of surrendering her child, I was appalled that construction would have been noticed at all… but I was starting to understand the selfishness Sookie had mentioned.

Sookie nodded. "I bet that was a pain… I guess Hadley's lucky to have a landlord who'd allow the renovation."

The witch looked fawned. "Oh, it was no big deal. They just had to add a wall and a door. It's not like they walled up any windows… What about you Eric? Hadley said that you've got one of those big places in the Garden District. How'd you make that light tight and keep the historians happy?" The better question would be how I would get away with killing the child of the queen for sharing the location of my resting place…

"Carefully." _The answer to both questions._

"You have any famous neighbors? I had a friend buy a place over there and the real estate agent told her about 3 or 4 actors that live on her block."

"I bought the house before New Orleans was considered a trendy place to live. I don't spend enough time here to know my neighbors."

Sensing my annoyance, not that I was hiding it, Sookie added, "His maid mentioned that Anne Rice is close by." Only in the sense that she owned a house in the same District… Judging by the wrought feeling from Sookie, she was lying intentionally…

Thankfully, Anne Rice's mention changed the direction of the conversation as Sookie planned. Unfortunately, Amelia had a very strong opinion of the author's writing and was still prattling on about the inaccuracies in the Mayfair books while the server took orders, including my order for a bottle of champagne.

Hadley took the opportunity to heckle when the waitress delivered everyone's drinks, _"Special occasion?"_ I was honestly shocked that her self-centered nature didn't lead her to the mistaken conclusion that their reunion had been my reason.

"I owe Sookie a celebration. She's preformed beautifully… _the perfect pet_." Sookie turned to give me flattered smile while I filled her glass.

Her ill-tempered cousin hissed, "In the bathroom and on the dance floor? _I'm sure Gran would be proud_."

I was expecting for Sookie to feel as she did when her brother made his suggestive remarks, but the way her anger came to her could only be described as a detonation. So sudden, so intense that _my_ fangs threatened to surface. After taking a long sip of her drink while she tried to calm herself, Sookie leaned towards Hadley, making the Were between them stiffen enough to look frozen. "Since you've always been a double-talking, back-stabbing, narcissistic bitch, I'm not all that surprised, but since you're too damn brainless to not run your mouth to people whose minds I can read, why don't you just come out and say what you mean instead of implying that Eric would pay me for sex with a drink. Even if you're confused because that's all it ever took to get you on your back, I didn't get my reputation as a goody-two-shoes by being rude enough to grab a quickie in public. You know damn good and well what we were doing in the bathroom… I was looking out for you, just like I did when I let your maker know to watch your back… Gran would be rolling in her grave to see what you've become."

Hadley smiled at her mockingly. "Oooooh here it comes. The Fangbanger is going to tell me that my Grandmother wouldn't approve of my life."

"Gran would've been beside herself to see you again. She'd have hugged you like a life raft until she could get herself together enough to fuss at you for how long you were gone _**and you know it**_. I'm talking about how shitty you've been since I got here. Like being in the same city as me is an imposition. You can claim all you want that our problem is because you're a vampire now, but what it comes down to is you're that same cold, nasty child I grew up with. The same one that's been clubbing and riding in limos and wearing designer clothes once before throwing them out while your mother wasted away in a state hospital and your grandmother died on a worn linoleum floor. Call her 'YOUR' grandmother again and see what happens. I'll knock your fucking fangs out of your head." I didn't realize that I'd rested my hand on the back of Sookie's neck right away. While I took in how much higher her temperature was than usual, I realized that I wasn't trying to keep her under control, just trying to sooth her… If I'd been interested in taking my hand away, I might have applauded. In the meantime, the Berts let Sookie's threat pass without reacting.

Hadley snorted, trying to maintain her arrogance despite her blood rimmed eyes. _"Careful, pet. Sheriff's tugging your leash." _

"You're the one who needs to be careful…"

"How do you figure… _cow_?" Fangs. She called Sookie a 'cow' and that's all it took… and I didn't hesitate to show them either.

"You really want to go there? I guess you're forgetting that until you were turned, you weren't anything but a delicacy worth an allowance… At least I try to earn my keep." She didn't 'try' anything… She was worth more than she'd ever realize.

Hadley interrupted by making a show of running out her fangs "What the fuck do you know?"

Instead of letting Sookie share information that would lead some to believe that she can read vampire minds and put herself in danger, I took over. "Let's start with what the fuck I know, shall we?"

Hadley furrowed her brow, annoyed that I interrupted. "Oh, sure. Please. Let's hear what _The Vampire God_ knows."

"First of all, you shame your maker by showing such horrible manners…"

She flapped her hand and offered nothing more than a 'pshhh', a response that should've made her grateful that Sookie and her Were friend were between us.

"Secondly, your behavior towards me and my pet seems like a challenge. Is that what this is? _A challenge?_ Because you might want to reconsider."

"You wouldn't dare. I'm the child of…"

"A queen. I know. Not that you act like any more than the glorified, elevated fangbanger that you are. I'm still waiting for an answer about that challenge."

She leaned over and opened her mouth to deliver more unwarranted venom, but Jason clapped his hand over her mouth. "Knock it off. You're gonna get yourself hurt or killed… She's jealous as all hell because Sookie's been getting so much attention and she's had a crush on Eric since she was still alive." She was never anything but a donor and I hadn't looked twice, but the chance to remind her of that fact it was delayed by the fact that Hadley bit Jason's hand.

Hadley seemed apologetic as her cousin yanked his hand away from her mouth. "Ohmigod! Jason! I'm sorry… I… You know I always… I must've done that to you a hundred times growing up." It was a sad state of affairs that Jason was better with social cues than she was.

His lip curled as he studied the punctures in his palm. "Yeah… growing up. _**Growing up**_. You ain't a fucking kid anymore, but you're still acting like one… You're making a scene and picking a damn fight with a vampire that put another sheriff in the damn floor… over some stupid throwback to how much attention Sookie always got… But here's the thing, she didn't want the attention she got when we was kids. She wanted to be normal like us… And now, _well now_ she fucking deserves it. And Sook is the only one of us that really gets to be bitter since she's the one that was holding Aunt Linda's hand when she died and she's the one that had to take care of Gran. She's the one who Gran worried about you to. She's the one who cleaned up after what chemo did to your mom. She's the one who tended to them. You walked away and never looked back while she stayed to bury them both… _**but she's still trying to be nice**_. Go ahead and be petty and pissy… but be a bitch by yourself. Go home." _The retard unexpectedly redeemed himself immeasurably._

"What? Jason, I…"

"Go home. Seriously, Hadley…" He nudged the witch and slid out of the booth to stand at the head of the table so that she could exit.

"Jason, I said I'm sorry."

"Me too. Go'on, get. Call us when you get your head out of your ass."

She moved out of the booth quickly enough that it startled Jason, but not faster than I did to put myself between them. All apology was gone from her face. "This is a family matter. Get out of my way."

"If you make one move on him, you **will not** get the opportunity to apologize for your behavior. You've challenged your better, frightened your friends and further alienated your only family. Since you seem to have won the etiquette trifecta, you should call it a night before you do something irreparable."

"She already has…" The source of the voice behind me wasn't unfamiliar, just a surprise. Andre. Hadley retracted her fangs, taking a panicked step back. "…Northman, the queen sends her apologies for Hadley's behavior."

"It's barely worth mentioning."

"She was instructed to take lessons on decorum from her cousin. It seems as though she's a slow learner… Hadley. Car."

She balked. "I was… _Sookie provoked me_."

"We know better than that. Go or you'll be taken…" She gave Andre and me a wide berth when she stomped away mumbling indignant obscenities. Andre rolled his eyes as he asked if we could speak privately.

I wasn't surprised when Sookie was expected to join us, but the shock came when Andre had the Berts follow us to secure the hallway rather than accompany Hadley.

The ladies' room again.

Andre made sure that the stalls were empty before jumping right in, as per his usual. "The queen wishes for Sookie to be in Baton Rouge. It seems that Salome isn't just paranoid. She's been having isolated problems that seem to be escalating."

"Understandable. My plan was to contact her when we return for the night to let her know that the queen…"

"Not eventually. Immediately. The queen is confident that Miss Stackhouse would be more helpful there. You're to contact Salome about particulars tonight so that you can leave at sunset tomorrow."

"So soon?"

"Since you haven't had the opportunity to hire proper security, the queen is offering the Berts for your visit to Baton Rouge and Salome is offering supplementary security."

"That doesn't bode well. What exactly is it that's escalating?"

"She's found anti-vampire propaganda throughout the casino and hotel. Several light tight rooms were reserved with stolen credit cards and vandalized. Picketing. Some of her employees were coerced to resign… Since last night, 6 vampires have been reported missing."

"That would explain the urgency."

"It would. We understand that Quinn's manners aren't perfect, but we can arrange to hire him as an interim guard for Sookie's daytime needs." As 'renowned' as he was, I'd sacrifice a limb before I left Sookie alone with that prick.

"I'll let you know about that once our arrangements have been made."

"Don't be such a spoil sport. You know it would be fun to kill him for being improper."

"That isn't the point. We'll make our own arrangements for her daytime security."

"Suit yourself. Will your child be joining you or returning to Area 5?"

"I'll need to think about that. I may need her to go back to manage affairs in my stead. Is there anything else we should prepare ourselves for?"

"Other than the fact that your pet is going to be responsible for thwarting a hostile takeover and shattering the public perception of the Fellowship?" _Flippant prick._

Even though her feelings were suddenly the emotional equivalent of stage fright, Sookie had the sense to 'suffer' quietly for the time being.

Sookie sat completely silent for our entire ride back to the house. Not that the other passengers breathed a word while the limo returned them to their cars, but it was Sookie's silence that concerned me since she was such a pandemonium of emotions. Fear, anger, anxiety, disappointment… there wasn't any way for me to know if it was because of Hadley's display or her 'orders'.

Pam was waiting on the landing at the top of the stairs when we entered the house. "Do I want to know what the fuck had you so close to a killing spree?"

Jason snorted, answering as though the question wasn't directed at me. "Hadley's such a dumbass, she made me look smart. Bitch pushed and ragged until even her friends were ready to slap some sense into her. Eric was keeping her from going after me when 'big brother' showed up to take her home and put her instigating ass in time out." That pretty well covered things.

Pam stared for a moment, waiting for Jason to get corrected in some way, but it wasn't going to happen. "Well… _I enjoyed shopping_."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Good. I'd have lost sleep…"

Jason tilted his head. "Wait. I thought y'all didn't… _ohhhhh_… I see what you did there… _you're a funny mother fucker_." Then the dolt slapped my shoulder and went to the kitchen… When Sookie started laughing, I worried for a split second that she'd cracked under pressure. I ended up wondering why she'd ever bother reading his mind though… It seemed like every thought he had, he had out loud.

She was still snickering at her idiot brother while we walked into the kitchen… and she practically disappeared into the refrigerator while Pam joined us. "Eric, you should call Flood first, right? Because of the time. It's almost midnight as it is." Shit.

"You expect he'll be more cooperative now than he would be later? What would make him want to send a guard at all, let alone the right one?"

Sookie emerged with a container of food and set it on the counter in front of Jason, going as far as to open a beer for him. She was distracting him with food. "Ummmm. So, we've already established that I'm not completely on board with what those '_advisors'_ told us, but… Flood is still Flood, right?"

I nodded. "In theory."

"So since he sent _those guys_ to help 'you' hire new staff, I think he might've sent the same guys to watch things at Fangtasia."

"You think that Flood would've pulled from the same pool for either task?"

She shrugged. "Maybe… It's the same kind of job. Keeping their eyes open, being alert. If you call him and ask for the guys that tailed the yahoos... Being leery of a strange '_Colonel'_ might be enough since he knows now that there are real issues… if it doesn't work and he sends some random guy, it's still better than Quinn. I don't plan on leaving the room anyway, so all he'd be doing is letting in room service."

"But if he sends the right one, then the interview process is already done."

Sookie was already nodding in agreement, when Pam became tired of trying to fit together our pieces of conversation. Sookie volunteered to give Pam her update while I called Flood… she was adamant that I not wait any later…

I might as well have snuck up behind Pam and shouted 'boo' considering how shocked she was that I let Sookie take care of bringing her up to speed... It might have surprised _me_ that I trusted Sookie that much... but she'd already proven that she paid close attention to what we'd learned.

Honestly, I was hoping that the chatty nature of both of them might save me from more than a few 'then what?' conversations...

I'd gone to my office for some peace and by the time I was finished with my call to Flood, Pam and Sookie were nearly done… I'd listened periodically to take note if Sookie seemed to miss anything… She managed to cover all of the bases in addition to their occasional break to laugh about an anecdote or blatantly insult someone, namely Hadley.

I let them have their fun while I retyped Sookie's contract with Sophie-Ann for Salome with adjusted rates and then made a couple brief calls about arrangements…

They were laughing at the idea having me call Sookie's Shifter to have him serve as her guard while I crossed the foyer, but as soon as I re-entered the kitchen, all conversation stopped.

Sookie offered a wide-eyed 'well?' and popped a grape into her mouth from her seat on the counter.

"Well, Flood more than understood why I'd want to see to your safety and is sending a 'guy' named Maria something or other…"

"Not that Alcide guy?"

"In addition to… He suggested that you might feel more comfortable with a female. Paulette will be joining us as well. She'll be busy tomorrow morning gathering _helpful_ supplies, so don't expect her until later."

"Sweet! Anything else?"

"I haven't spoken to Salome yet. You should be with me so that you can help her structure your visit… Pam, you'll be leaving for Shreveport instead of joining us right away in Baton Rouge."

Her lip curled as she whined, "_Why? I'll be so __**bored**__."_

"By the time you arrive, Bobby will have delivered the research materials to my office at the bar so that you can see to the 'yahoos'… Don't outsource. Don't rest in your house; too many of your pets know where it is. When you rise go to Fangtasia. Empty the safe. Get the hard drive from my computer. Then join us in Baton Rouge."

"Do you think there will be a problem?"

"I know there will be… Fangtasia is going to get bombed while we're at the casino."


	9. Chapter 9

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 9**

**It Gives You Wings**

If I'd had my way, I sure as hell wouldn't have spent half an hour explaining to Sookie and Pam that it made sense for Fangtasia to get a live bomb instead of a decoy. Nor would I have been all but trapped on the phone with all of the other Louisiana sheriffs. One call after another... Cleo and Gervaise were hoping to be 'next in line' for the use of Sookie's ability after Salome... Followed by neighbors including Dallas's sheriff and Mississippi's king...

Emailing them all a copy of Sookie's contract and outlines for 'telepathy clinics' did nothing to end the battery of inquisitive groveling. They agreed to the fees and stipulations without hesitation and made no complaints about being queued in order of urgency rather than 'first come, first served'...

The most annoying aspect was that Sookie was exhausted enough to be fighting yawn after yawn before she was done explaining to Salome that a 'mandatory staff meeting' had worked well in New Orleans... Cleo was still kissing my ass when Sookie curled up next to me on the couch to use my leg as her pillow and by the time Russell Edgington was done shamelessly gushing, Sookie was purring softly with her arms wrapped around my thigh. Through the entire process, irritating as it was, Sookie managed to sleepily mumble responses to the questions she was needed to answer even though everything about her told me she was completely asleep...

When I carried her to her room to put her in her bed, Pam had covered it with a plethora of clothing she'd found for Sookie. I was planning a way to clear the heap away without disturbing Sookie when she whispered, 'I thought I was sleeping with you anyway'... She hadn't opened her eyes though.

Even though I'd been told that she talks in her sleep, there wasn't any way to explain how she was so aware of her surroundings when her eyes were closed. I was still trying to figure out how she'd known where we were or what gave me pause when I slipped away at dawn with Sookie breathing against my chest with her thigh hitched over mine...

When I rose, I immediately felt charged... Not my usual.

Every part of my body felt as though I was leaning against heavy machinery. Almost a shiver if I remember one correctly.

Sookie was completely to blame, but I couldn't explain why. Judging by her determined yet frazzled mood and the fact that she was darting around the house as though she was being chased, I wouldn't even have ventured to guess...

The foyer housed a collection of luggage. Sookie's and Jason's (if a duffle bag suffering from dry rot could be considered 'luggage') and what I assumed was Paulette's. It was all arranged neatly with a few nondescript boxes.

When I walked into the kitchen, Sookie was standing in front of the open refrigerator drinking from a can as though her life depended on it while Paulette and Jason watched her.

She tossed the empty can into the garbage and grabbed another while she closed the refrigerator door and began to study her erratically moving hands as though she was checking off an unseen list.

"I think that's it! Pam might need help packing all of her new schwag, but Eric..." She turned around to face them and that's when she noticed me... And her face was instantly taken over with that smile I'd been craving... She was genuinely happy to see me. "...Oh, hey there! Need any help packing?"

"I'll manage."

"K... I'm packed, Jason is ready to head out too, the house is clean and ready to be closed up... Other than your and Pam's..." She was speaking so quickly that her voice was an octave (and several decibels) higher than usual.

"Sookie, are you _**on something?**_"

Paulette giggled. "My fault. I never went to sleep last night because of planning and packing. I brought some energy drinks with me to keep me going..."

Sookie broke in with wide eyes, "She shared. These things are awesome. I usually stick to coffee, but these little silver cans... I could drink these all the time... They're soooooo yummy... I slept until 3, but after the way I crashed on you last night I was worried about a repeat. They work really well. I wish the cans were bigger though. Kinda wasteful if you ask me, they should sell it in 2 liter bottles... or like juice pouches, 'cept for grownups… Maybe that's a bad idea. I just pictured what would happen if Arlene's kids accidently drank some…" Hyperactive rambling. We served the drink at Fangtasia, but I'd never seen it cause such a reaction. I had been convinced that the 'energy drink' label was nothing more than a brilliant marketing ploy that only served to drive up the price per can...

"Paulette, tell me there's an antidote for Red Bull."

She cringed, "Weed?"

The three of them found that utterly hilarious. Considering what Sookie needed to be prepared for, I wasn't amused. "How long does it take for the effects to wear off?"

"It doesn't take long for me, but she's never tried it before. She should start mellowing out once she stops drinking it. She hasn't eaten yet either."

Jason snorted, "Or she could '_have wings'_ for 3 days like I did when I tried it… and I just had one." Fuck!

"Feed her something while I pack."

If I thought that Sookie's room had been ridiculous when I tried to put her to bed, I would've just needed to see Pam's in comparison. There was a Pam shaped dent in the clothing mountain on her bed and the floor was riddled with shoe boxes and bags stacked knee deep. "You won't have the chance to wear a fraction…"

She purred from the bathroom, "Classics, my dear, never go out of fashion."

"Good. Then you won't 'need' to go to Milan this year."

"Bite. Your. Tongue… No seriously, bite it… _Hard_."

"What would be the point in going to buy new fashion when you've collected so many 'classics'?"

"When you stop buying new cell phones every 4 months, then we'll talk… You're in a mood. What crawled up…?"

"_NOTHING_… Stop asking what crawled up my ass. It's completely absurd."

She rolled her eyes and huffed one of her pointless breaths in my direction. "Blue balls?"

"No…"

"Are you sure? When was the last time you suffered?"

"I… fuck. I don't know. _Never_? I could be, but I'm 'in a mood' at the moment because the _anointed savior_ of Louisiana vampires is downstairs zipping around in some sort of Red Bull induced buzz. She's having some sort of reaction to it."

"Is she freaking out?"

"No."

"Is she feeling pressure, stress, upset?"

"No. She's feeling… She's frenzied."

"Well, good then. She'll calm down enough for business. And if you get lucky, _she'll taste like candy later_. Win/win."

"What makes you so sure?"

"You act like Sookie hasn't owned every task she's been given. She might be bouncing off the walls right now, but she takes what she does very seriously. You know she won't disappoint. I mean, that pompous prick Andre thinks she's the bee's knees as far as pet behavior is concerned."

"Thank you, Pam, for reminding me of another concern."

"I need a vacation from you."

"_YOU_? Need a vacation from _ME_?"

"You're usually much cooler than this. I think you need to get laid."

"I _**do**_ need to get laid, but that has nothing to do with the fact that 'my pet' is more popular than AB- right now… and that Andre, of all fucking vampires, is a little too impressed with her for my taste."

"Attached to her already, are you?" She was taunting me on the wrong subject matter.

"Yes."

My stray moment of deliberate candor only served to get Pam to back down. "Hurry up and fuck her and bond to her… Before you end up killing someone for looking at her."

"You say that like bonding to her is going to make me _less protective_ of her… Fuck, you say that like a bond would deter a weasel like Andre."

"It'll deter Sophie-Ann as long as you're compliant. Right now she has the best of both worlds. Sookie is willingly yours…"

"And a master at publically faking her devotion."

"She's not faking… and she's going above and beyond every expectation they had for her. All they were hoping for was to have her sit in on the occasional meeting to look for dishonesty. They didn't have any idea that she'd be capable of so much detail."

"What do you mean 'not faking'."

"Girl talk."

"No. Not this time."

"Why don't you pass her a note during study hall?"

"Why don't you stop trying to piss me off. What. Did. You. Mean?"

She sucked her teeth, knowing full well that I was done with letting her bait me. "You're slipping. You can tell exactly what I'm doing by our watery bond and you can't tell that she loves you? You really can be an idiot sometimes… She would've agreed to belonging to another vampire rather than see you injured or ended! She was covered in mucus and leaking in the bathroom when she told me that if anything had happened to you because of her, letting her live would've been punishment enough… her perfect behavior might have started as being part of 'the show', but she's not faking it. Sookie loves you."

"She _depends_ on me…"

"For what? She could be protected by any vampire she chooses. She has friends. He's not much, but her brother _does_ love her…"

"He's abusive to her."

"He doesn't mean to be. He's just too simple. He doesn't know how to sugarcoat anything and she knows. She warned me about him after you called him. While I was babysitting him, he talked about how 'cool' it was to see so many _people_ in one place that weren't freaked out by her 'thang'… He loves her enough to be happy to see something positive happen to her."

"He considers his sister being the most valuable piece of _property_ in the state as a positive?" He must've been dropped as an infant… often.

"He called her haunted. She couldn't ever get away from people's thoughts and she was miserable for her whole life because of it… The point is that you're too used to people needing something from you. You need to wrap your head around the fact that she doesn't need you for anything. She actually enjoys being with you."

"Not that this conversation isn't enlightening…"

She interrupted. "And making you _feel things_."

"At least I haven't cried over a hug. Would you like to continue talking about _feelings_ or would you prefer to take care of business so that I leave you to packing?"

She stared at me before she abandoned her plans to taunt me because she knew I had more ammunition than she did. "Are you absolutely sure you want to do this? Fangtasia..."

"I can't think of a negative aspect worth mentioning. It'll be bombed during the day so no one will be injured. Media coverage of bombings at both ends of the state will make the church look completely psychotic. I don't like being closed down for safety's sake. It could look as if we're afraid to face them… It'll appear to the queen that I'm making a sacrifice for the cause while showing that I take Sookie's ability and her assistance on human insight seriously... It's not as though we'll miss the income while we rebuild, _if we decide to_. The bar wasn't anything but a profitable storefront to the sheriff position to begin with... I've already looked into real estate in the area where we can take audience, have meetings and have Sookie offer her services. And the best part of watching the place burn to the fucking ground on the news is that we won't have to think about that shackle for a while."

"Whatever... So, I'm going back to Shreveport, dispose of the yahoos and NOT rest in my house. Tomorrow I'm clearing out the safe, grabbing your hard drive and joining you in Baton Rouge."

"Unless you hear otherwise, yes. Why did you 'whatever' me this time?"

"Because you don't need to do it. Putting a 'dud' by the service entrance would give you just as much reason to close down as an actual explosion." The way her voice wavered when she said 'explosion'…

"Pam?"

"What?"

"Are you scared to go?"

"What? Why would I…?"

"Because you were almost ended two nights ago and there are risks involved in going to Fangtasia." I hadn't needed to explain, she'd already betrayed herself… Saying that the bombing left her rattled would be an understatement.

"It worries me." That would be the best I'd get as far as an honest answer was concerned. We'd had a few 'near misses' in the past that had left her clingy, but I was getting the undeniable feeling that I wasn't the only one she wanted to stay close to… even if she would only admit that Sookie was an amusing safety measure, Pam was forming an attachment of her own.

I started for the door. "Then pack for Baton Rouge instead. No deep meditation though. We're short for time."

"You're bothered?"

"Not at all."

"What will you do about…?"

"The yahoos will wait. I'll have Bobby manage the rest. Is there anything 'irreplaceable' that you're keeping at Fangtasia?"

She shook her head. "Thank you… I… Thank you."

"You should've said something since I'm slipping so badly."

She tried to force a smile, but it wasn't coming to her so I relieved her of _feeling things_ around me and went to take care of business.

I was nearly done packing when Sookie knocked on the door and waited (anxiously) for her invitation.

"I'm going from room to room to make sure nothing got missed. Are you sure you don't want any help?"

"I'm sure."

"Are you angry? We didn't know Red Bull would key me up so much."

"Concerned. Not angry. You've settled since you ate though. If energy is going to be a problem, maybe Paulette can think of something that'll keep you awake without causing the side effects."

"It's called coffee. I'll stick to that from now on. Unless it's housekeeping day. Red Bull would be perfect for cleaning."

"It might help Pam pack. Have you seen her room?"

She giggled. "No. How could it possibly be worse than what she did to mine?"

"Your room would be the square root of hers."

"_Nooooo_."

"Sadly, yes. Paulette will have hundreds of pounds to ship back to Shreveport when she returns to New Orleans."

"She could just bring it all with her when she moves."

"She won't relocate. I've tried."

"_She could be convinced."_ Whenever Pam used a similar singsong voice, my skin crawled, but Sookie's didn't irritate me… The intriguing subject might have been the reason.

"You heard something?"

She smirked. "Maybe."

"I'd give you whatever you want anyway. Name your price."

"Don't send Pam back to Shreveport. I think she's scared, but even if she's not, I'm scared for her." _Unfuckingbelievable._

"Nothing else?"

She pouted. "I don't want a single thing. Is it too much? I just figured you could have Bobby take care of most of it and glamour him later. You know, back burner the yahoos… It's fine… I just…" I heard Pam's echo, '_she doesn't need you for anything'_… Sookie could've asked for anything…

"It's not too much… I've already taken care of it. She's going with us to Baton Rouge already."

"Seriously?" When I nodded, her eyes lit up and she closed the distance between us to hug me. The happiness I was feeling was hers… but the strange weight in my chest was my own… My reaction to the fact that Sookie was the only other individual I'd known to care about Pam?

"How did you come to the conclusion that she was worried about going back alone?"

"When you told us the plan, she seemed kind of weird about it… she had less reaction to seeing two of each of us."

"So I tell you that I'd give you whatever you want, and you option for Pam's peace of mind?"

"I told you I don't want anything… Now Paulette is a different story."

"Really?"

"Did you know that she lives with her brother and his family because he lost his job a while back? They live off of what she makes working for you and his unemployment."

"When we had our company, it was mentioned that their Paulette was relocating, but not what he used as bait… There were too many questions. Bobby's attitude was what we focused on."

"Ahhh, well… If a certain vampire knows someone in need of a qualified welder in the Shreveport area, then they could all relocate and Paulette wouldn't have to worry about how Porter is making ends meet."

"After the other night, the queen may very well hire them for piece work. The wards they cast were…"

"They don't want to work as witches on a regular basis. A- it's hell when filing taxes. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do…"

"Financial consultant for my company. Bruce is already taking care of things on that end."

"Oh. Cool."

"B?"

"B is that it's a slippery slope. Paulette knows that you understand, but they're picky about how they use magic. They've got no problems casting spells to protect folks, but they're strong enough to do a lot of damage. They wouldn't want to piss off the wrong person by refusing to be more aggressive with their talents."

"That's all I have to do? Hire Porter as a welder, then Paulette is my day girl?"

"Well, helping them relocate too…"

"Of course… I've been offering her Bobby's job since before she'd been working here for a year. I owe you a favor."

She giggled. "We're even. We both got what we wanted… I'd have told you anyway… I'm going to go get a shower and get ready since you don't need any help."

"Mind if I join you?"

She laughed, "You already took a shower." I'd been expecting an unconditional 'no', so her reason threw me.

"I feel dirty."

She rolled her eyes. "I bet."

When she turned around to leave, giggling and under the assumption that I was joking, I grabbed her. Her body against mine, a fistful of her hair, a whiff of her scent and I was already getting hard as I spoke against her neck. "I know it's a poorly veiled excuse to touch you, but you need to show me what you're doing wrong if I'm going to teach you how to use the shower."

I was waiting, still expecting her refusal with my face buried against her neck when I heard a click and looked up to see that we'd been moving… the click was the knob on her bedroom door.

Speechless.

She bent over to turn on the water, giggling that I still hadn't let her go. "You're persistent."

"You're gravitational."

She hummed, leaning back to me again. "Is that a good thing?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Eric?"

"Yes Sookie?"

"All kidding aside, I need you to let me go. I don't have much time to get ready."

It was harder than I thought it would be to take my arm away from her and put my back against the wall…

She watched me for a moment as though she was waiting for something before she grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head slowly… shyly.

And everything slowed down…

Watching her shirt fall to rest on the floor…

Memorizing every wrinkle of her nipples as they reacted to the cool air of being freed…

Studying the way her hips shifted when she pushed her shorts down…

The flip of her ankle as she kicked them aside was a flourish, like a boastful pen stroke…

The glance over her shoulder as she stepped into the tub wasn't just watchful…

No.

I might have wondered about it if I couldn't feel her anticipation, her wonder, her craving…

That glance had been my invitation.

I fed it. I don't know how the fuck I managed to wait, but that's what I did…

I waited, watching through the smoky glass doors as her silhouette hinted that she was washing her hair…

Letting her expectation clash with my own until I couldn't stand the wait any longer.

I stepped into the tub behind her and didn't give her the chance to react. I began washing her, _starting at her shoulders_...

She took a moment to bask before she let herself remember our limitations. "Eric, the time." …_down her back…_

"What about it?"

She whimpered, "We don't have much." …_enjoying every delicious contour of her ass_…

"What if we did? What if we had the whole night to ourselves?"

"Then I'd be out of excuses."

"Excuses for what?"

She giggled, laying her head back against my shoulder to look up at me. "Excuses to control myself… Happy?" _…reaching around to let my fingers play along the outline of her breasts…_

"Not quite."

"Does it make you feel better to know that I've painted myself into a corner? Now that I'm done over-thinking everything, we're too swamped to do anything about it."

"No. I don't think it does make me feel 'better'."

"Then… _I'm sorry_?" _…squandering precious time along her waist, but devouring her expectations… she wanted my hands to continue…_

"I'm still preoccupied by hearing that you're out of excuses."

"We still can't do anything about the fact that the Berts will be here to get us in half an hour."

"But you've run out of excuses." _…turning her around and worshiping the way her leg trembled when I lifted it, then the other…_

"You're out of patience?"

"It worked out well that I managed to last until _you're out of excuses_." _…the way she hated that I set her foot down instead of doing anything else with it…_

"I know I'm out of excuses… and time. We don't have time to…" As much as I wanted to ignore our agenda, I was painfully aware of it… but I was not about to walk away from that shower with nothing…

I ended her weak complaint about timing with a kiss, finally venturing to reach between her legs and being rewarded with her anxious moan… the sound was so deep that it felt like my own…

Every second that my fingers whispered over her skin without giving Sookie what she wanted pushed her breathing that much more out of control…

When she had to finally pull away, she gasped as I ran my fangs down her neck.

"Do you think that the car would leave without us?"

She rolled her eyes towards the ceiling and whined, "Goddammit, Eric. This isn't fair."

"What isn't fair? The way you tease me?"

"The way you tease me... You do it on purpose." It was my only defense.

I chuckled against her shoulder and watched her goosebumps spread. "Is it working?"

"You know it is."

"Are you so sure about fucking me all of a sudden?"

There was something nearly feral about the way she looked at me. "You know the answer to that too."

"And your only excuse is that you don't want to keep the Berts waiting?"

"Not them. Salome."

I took a step away from her. "Then you'd better rinse so that you can get ready." My aching dick is the only thing that kept me from laughing at the frustration written all over her face.

She curled her little hands into fists and punched both of my shoulders. "You son of a bitch! You planned that!"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was only here to observe your technique… _You really do need lessons_."

She put her hands on my chest and tried to shove me away, but nearly fell in the process. "That's not funny."

"I'm not laughing. Payback, my dear Sookie, is a bitch."

Her eyebrows twitched with the corners of her mouth. "Oh yeah? Is that one of my lessons?"

"No. Just a simple fact."

"So is 'don't overplay your hand'."

"Who's done that?"

"You." Before I could deny it, Sookie leaned forward and dragged her teeth down the side of my neck so violently, so perfectly that it was agonizing… And when she wrapped her hand around my cock and started stroking, my eyes rolled back and I had nothing to do but brace myself against the wall…

Her hand was so tight… it hurt… I couldn't stand the idea of making her to stop…

When I tried to put my arm around her, she grabbed my wrist and pushed it away…

With every heated stroke, the head of my dick slid over her stomach…

I tried to reach between her legs, but she used her thigh to block my hand…

Her grip only became more unyielding…

I was aching. I was so close to cumming that my stomach _hurt_ and when I tried to go for her neck, she caught my mouth with hers…

I would have begged.

I would have pleaded… there was nothing I could do without force…

She let my fangs nick her lips… and the hint of her blood pushed me that much closer…

Then.

Then it was over.

Just as quickly as she attacked me, she ended it. I was left so dazed that she had both of my hands in hers, our fingers laced together with as tight of a grip as she could… and she was panting against my neck.

"Sookie, you really shouldn't tease me."

"Yeah, well… I figured that since I was being accused, I might as well join the game. How am I doing?" Winning, by a fucking landslide… Fuck… _I really had done that to myself._ The something I'd hoped to walk away from the shower with had been the idea that Sookie would be as dazed as I was just then… not an epic disappointment.

"We'll finish this later."

"Oh, yeah we will, but we're not done yet."

"If you push me any further…"

She whispered into my ear, "I'm not pushing you. You've only fed once since we got here. If things get crazy, you need to be at the top of your game. Bite me."

"At my age, I don't need…"

"Shhhhh… _you know I'm right_… just... do... it."

"You're sure?" I don't know why I asked. There was only one thing that I wanted more.

With our hands still together, she pulled mine behind her back, pulling us together. "One. Hundred. Percent. Positive. _We'll finish this later_."


	10. Chapter 10

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 10**

**First Impressions**

From the moment Pam saw me as she came downstairs with her baggage, she laughed through her nose. I knew that she'd heard my tantrum while I dressed. I could hear the little bitch laughing when I kicked my bathroom door down. She made the mistake of comparing me to a cartoon thermometer… Pink at the top and blue underneath… 'well fed, but blue balled'. Fucking bitch. Since she thought she was so damn funny, I got her attention with my foot, lifting my toe only a little bit… and then scuffing the top of her white, suede peep-toes _**permanently**_... She stopped laughing.

Pam decided to tease Sookie instead. When Jason took his leave, Sookie behaved like a mother hen. Reminding him to text her when he reached home, watch his speed because he didn't need another ticket, if he stopped for food he shouldn't try to eat and drive at the same time, etcetera, etcetera. Sookie was still weepy eyed when Pam insisted that Sookie call him to come back, because his balls were still in 'Sissy's' purse. Sookie shut Pam up by asking Wybert if he thought there was anything wrong with watching out for her brother. He growled at Pam and answered with a simple 'no'… but that wasn't all… Pam had Sookie and Paulette sit on the trunk of the limo with her to force it shut over her luggage… when they slid from the back of the car, Sookie took the chance to hug Pam again. "I was so worried about you going back to Shreveport. I don't care if you make fun of me, as long as you're ok." The threat of tears sent Pam back into the house for something she hadn't forgotten.

Pam had no fucking clue who she was dealing with.

I wasn't the only one who'd met their match.

Sookie did a bit of fidgeting when the car first started moving, trying to modestly situate the dress that Pam had encouraged her to wear. The shortest one yet. I might have complained about how meager it was considering who we'd be in the company of eventually, but I was too pleased with the way Sookie's tan seemed so much deeper next to the white silk. She eventually slid her feet out of her pumps and pulled them up to the seat to sit on them…

Perhaps my sense of fairness had been damaged by the shower we'd shared, but before Sookie had the chance to attach herself to my side, I jokingly stretched out on the long seat of the limo and rested my head in her lap.

"I was just about to ask you if you'd mind if I did that." Sit for any length of time with her head in my lap? With as raw as she'd left me? Not unless she was going to abandon all modesty and fuck me with witnesses.

"Do you mind? I just felt like stretching out."

Her bemused expression was exaggerated by the angle I saw it from, but it was still worth remembering the innocence of it. She laid her head back against the seat. "No, this is fine. It solves my problem."

"Which was?"

"Figuring out how to keep this Godforsaken skirt from riding up while I nap."

"You can nap after several energy drinks while sitting up?"

She hummed slightly and began running her fingers through my hair… I could've protested being treated like a cat but it felt too fucking good. "We'll see. The Red Bulls make me wonder, but I've always been able to make myself sleep even when I'm not tired… Staying awake when I'm exhausted is a different story entirely. I figure it's worth a try since I have a long night ahead of me."

Paulette slid over to lean against the side of the car. "I hear ya, Sook. I'm going to crash for a little bit too. Don't let me sleep until we get there though. I'm bloodshot as hell when I first wake up."

Sookie gave her a nod and settled back.

Within a few minutes, they'd been successful. Paulette was snoring and everything about Sookie told me that she was asleep except for the rhythmic kneading and grazing scratches to my scalp… relaxing and hypnotic weren't common for me so when my phone started ringing and it wasn't in my pocket, I actually found myself afraid that the sound would rouse her and ruin everything.

Sookie had told me that it was in her purse. I'd left her bathroom as quickly as I could and that didn't involve dressing, so I had to be thankful that she'd thought to check my pockets…. But reaching for her purse which was on the seat on the other side of her without disturbing her proved to be more difficult than I thought. Rather than be helpful, Pam laughed quietly from the other end of the car. Bitch. By the time I had Sookie's purse in my hand, my phone stopped ringing. I dug it out anyway so that I wouldn't have the same struggle again only to find that it had been Bobby. Leave it to that fucking idiot.

I'd managed to blindly push some of Sookie's things out of her purse and when I started to put them back, something caught my eye… on a small slip of paper, in tiny script, she'd scribbled a list.

Honestly, I'd only looked twice because it was a list. I thought that it might have been something she'd forgotten to give to Paulette…

Blood/Loan pros versus Blood/Loan cons… I couldn't have stopped reading it if I wanted to.

Blood/Loan cons:

I don't know when I could pay him back.

I don't know how to mention interest w/o insulting him.

I'm going to cause enough trouble, I don't want him to think I need to be kept.

If I take his blood, he'll get stuck feeling me. How long does it last?

What happens when he gets sick of me?

There's a lot I don't know about the blood thing.

Blood/Loan pros:

Gran would hate if I lost her house.

It would make working together easier if it would help him trust me.

If I don't take it, would he look like a jerk for not healing me?

Don't want him to think I'm not grateful for either offer.

Security

I'd be able to concentrate. Vacation from concussion/cracked ribs.

What could've been her 'baggage claim', her list of reasons not to accept anything from me based on how Bill betrayed her, was a list of what made her come to terms with her sudden situational shift last Tuesday. The items that made it to her list weren't as remarkable to me as the reasons she didn't include…

Her list didn't include that, given her experience, she had no reason to think I wouldn't leverage favors to my advantage like Bill had. Her list didn't include that I could just as easily manipulate her as Bill had. Her list didn't include that she was scared of me. Her list didn't include that taking any vampire's blood would irritate her judgmental shifter friend.

There were no overt Bill/Eric comparisons. There were no whimsical references to anything our visitors told us.

Her concerns were repaying a pittance of a loan, seeming like a gold digger, honoring her grandmother and _my feelings_.

'Stuck' with her, 'sick' of her… _trouble?_

Her note helped me to understand why she would've wanted Bill to still exist all the more. Learning that her myriad of injuries included cracked ribs that he left her to suffer through inspired some of the cruelest ideas I'd ever had.

Each side of her debate had one item underlined three times. It seemed that the heaviest weights on her scale involved what I thought of her and not the other way around.

Realizing that I'd let myself be amazed by a tiny sheet of paper more than anything I'd ever read, I held it up to ask Pam if she knew about it… that's when I noticed what the paper was. The tiny slip of paper that I hadn't given any thought to anymore than a hostage would care if their ransom note was written on toilet paper or gold leaf…

It was the check I'd written out to her. She never had any intention of taking the loan. She couldn't have if she was scribbling notes over the endorsement line…

"Sookie?"

Her hands never stopped working through my hair. "hmmmm, yeah?"

"Why didn't you deposit the check?"

Her eyes didn't open, her body never stirred… "Snoop."

"I found it looking for my phone. What did you plan on doing about your finances?" The king's ransom worth of checks her brother promised to deposit once he returned to Bon Temp was twice what we'd expected and more than enough to cover her expenses, but she'd been right about the variables, about two weeks worth of butterfly effect. Things could've gone in the other direction.

"I took care of it."

"How?" The idea that she'd turn down a loan from me to accept one from someone else like her shifter entered my mind and irritated me to no end.

"I used what I had in the bank to cover the back mortgage payment."

"Your other bills?"

"The house is the important thing. I still have a check coming from Sam. I would've stayed with a friend for a few days if my power got shut off."

"Not me?"

"At the time I hadn't quit Sam so I had the commute to consider and I wouldn't want to put you out anyway." _Put me out?_

"Why didn't you just take care of your bills before?"

"Didn't want to?"

"Why?" I wasn't going to let it go. Even if I had to wake her.

"We were square."

"How so?"

"Once I drank your blood, we were even."

"Even?"

"I didn't know you, unless you count what Bill told me. If you didn't feel like you owed me for the Long Shadow thing, we might as well have met that night… We'd have known more about each other if it had been a damned blind date. I didn't want to owe you from the jump. I wasn't going to take both." She had to be kidding.

"So you chose to take the blood of a vampire you'd been scared of only a few hours earlier?" _It didn't make any sense at all that that she'd refuse a loan that she could work off rather than accept a connection that she couldn't just negotiate away at her will._

Her fingers were still lazily pushing through my hair… she was actually having a full blown conversation in her sleep. "I took the one that meant more to you to offer." Her answers were so painfully simple, so unsophisticated it was like interrogating a child…

"Explain that."

"Your money doesn't mean anything to you until someone takes advantage of it… Taking the loan instead of your blood would've been like throwing away the gift to keep the wrap."

She'd left me speechless again… other than rushing to tell Pam to keep her fucking mouth shut before she could make fun of me, I couldn't think of anything to say.

I let her rest while I came to the conclusion that Pam had been right about Sookie not relying on me for anything. Having plenty of time to think about the situation gave me the chance to realize that in the albeit short time that I'd known her, she hadn't let anyone do anything for her that she could do herself…

She was so much more independent than even she gave herself credit for. She'd called herself stubborn and that was unabashedly accurate, but there were so many advantages to her obstinance that outweighed the downsides.

How protective the inflexible little telepath was could be thanked for how I still had Pam. I would've lost her if Sookie hadn't bullied and snuck her way into the palace and kept that cop from letting daylight into the room. Even if I weren't completely infatuated with Sookie, I would have no trouble recognizing that I'd owe her for that service perpetually.

I must've read Sookie's list a thousand times… All it did was distract me from dwelling on how many answers were hiding between the lines of her sloppy scrawl. The subtext helped bring Sookie into focus all the more…

I could've laid on Sookie's lap, lost in the contact and pondering her extraordinary character indefinitely. As it was, I'd been ignoring Pam's leering until Sookie's phone began ringing as the car exited I-10.

Her fingers left my hair as she stirred, stretching with just one arm while she answered sleepily. Lafayette was calling to find out why Sookie wasn't on the new schedule that had been posted. He was worried that she was more injured than she'd let on until Sookie explained that she'd quit. He mentioned that he'd ask about jobs for her and called her stupid when she half-lied about working at Fangtasia… his reason was that he didn't like that she'd be driving so far late at night, not that he was concerned about Sookie being in the company of vampires. Her little rent-boy friend grew on me slightly for that perspective.

When she was done assuring her friend that she was 'just fine' without giving him any details other than the fact that she was in Baton Rouge, Sookie stood up, modesty be damned…

She carefully covered the distance between us and Paulette, then bent just enough to tease me with the show… she rested her weight on one leg and used the other to balance while she roused her new friend from her nap… she was giving me a wonderful view of her white lace panties… lingering even though she'd woken Paulette…

Tease.

Anything I'd thought she was doing to tease me before was nothing… now that she was consciously teasing me, I caught myself thinking that I might have to resort to fucking a random donor for some relief before I let myself realize that I didn't want one. I'd rather be teased by Sookie than touch a fangbanger by that point. The anticipation had gone past torture and become a promise of deliverance.

Salome was waiting for our arrival at the flamboyant entrance of Seven Veils Resort and Casino, but I barely noticed her from the horde of protestors. She was standing with three uniformed employees and what seemed to be Sookie's guards, all of them watching the picketers carefully. Dozens of church lemmings chanting 'silver, sunlight, stake, amen!'.

As soon as Sookie could hear well enough to understand them, she angrily lurched from her seat next to me to wait by the door for the limo to stop.

She told us that it was safer if we 'stay put' as she shoved open the door and launched herself out. She was on a mission of some sort, but I certainly wasn't letting her walk through that crowd alone.

She didn't seem conscious of the fact that I'd followed her until I took her hand. "Sookie?"

She whispered, "Eric, I don't… _these people are crazy_. They could hurt you."

"They could hurt you too. What are you planning to do?"

"Try to get the cops to get rid of them."

"I'm sure Salome already tried that."

She smiled up at me. "I'm sure she did, but not my way."

"Your way?"

She shrugged, but she was anything but unsure. "It's worth a try."

She was stomping so furiously that her high heels sounded like gunshots and she quickly found her objective. One of the several police officers pointed us in the direction of the officer 'in charge'.

Sookie's pissy stride came to a halt directly in front of Sergeant Carraway. She stomped her last step as though Pam had taught her to walk. "Where does your wife work?"

His only slightly curious look became defensive. "Excuse me?" His eyes were locked on her cleavage.

"I was just wondering if you'd sit around with your thumb up your ass if your wife's place of work was surrounded with armed lunatics."

"I'm sorry, ma'am. Those people have the right to…"

"If you were sorry, they wouldn't still be here. They're breaking enough laws that you can arrest them. Have the decency to at least get them out of here."

He chuckled at her and it only made her more irate. "This should be good. Why don't you go ahead and tell me what laws they're breaking since you know my job better than me, _cupcake_."

She jutted out her chin defiantly. "Well, if you shared your doughnuts with the fire chief, the safety hazard might have been more obvious. Those people are blocking the exit… Take into account that they're guilty of property damage every time they toss True Blood on a passer-bys… their chant isn't a political opinion, it's a 'how to' on ending a vampires and every one of them is armed…"

"Armed? I'm sure some of them have concealed weapons, but since they have the right of assembly…"

She cut him off, "Wow. I guess you made Sergeant before you went blind… those signs are stapled to _pointed_ wooden spikes and they're passing out silver coins and crosses. It's only lawful for them to assemble if the protest doesn't include intimidation."

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to…"

"_Oh, I'm not going anywhere_. If you don't get rid of them and leave some guys here to make sure those creeps don't re-accumulate then I'm going straight over to that news crew and telling them that you, Sergeant Carraway, are allowing stalking, menacing, threats and compromising the safety of close to 2000 people because you're a bigot."

"How does this make me a bigot!?"

"You're only letting this carry on because it's a vampire owned business. Get rid of them or me and every fangbanger I can find will be on the lawn of the mayor's church on Sunday morning. Heavily armed, blocking passage and throwing food at people in front of every news crew who takes the invitation and I'll make sure to mention that everything that happens on Sunday was just fine and dandy with you when humans were doing it to vampires."

"That's not the same thing…"

"Test me. I have bail. How's your job security?" She stood there with her arms crossed completely unfaltering while he glared at her.

Finally, he turned to an underling and told him to 'start getting them outta here'… "Fine you got what you wanted."

"Not quite. Give me your phone number."

"Why? Planning to ask me out?" He actually smiled at her and the only way I stayed calm was feeling Sookie's disgusted reaction.

"No. You're married, ugly and stupid. I want your number because whoever hotel management has been calling about other issues is ignoring them. Now that I know you can be reasoned with, they can call you."

"They've been having problems? Before the bombing in New Orleans?"

"They just have more protestors now. They've been dealing with this for a while, long enough that some of the staff was afraid to keep working here. Some vandalism too."

"You work here?"

"Just visiting. I know the owner."

He nodded and pulled a small note pad out of his pocket to start scribbling. "Here. Have them call me for stuff like that then. If I'm not on duty, I'll find them someone who'll take care of things for them."

Sookie took the paper and turned to give me a very cheeky wink and waited for me to lead her over to Salome.

Without needing introduction, Sookie waved at her guards to acknowledge them and handed the Sergeant's phone number over to Salome. "Do you have a vampire available to run an errand?"

Salome grinned, making no attempts to hide how impressed she was with what she'd heard. "Anything you need."

"There are 2 Weres from Arkansas mixed in with the cuckoos. You might want to have them followed so we know what they report."

Salome gave a nod to one of her uniformed henchmen and he was gone without hesitation as soon as Sookie pointed them out. "Do you not already know?"

"At the moment they're too upset that they can't get their jobs done now that the protest is getting broken up. Once they calm down they'll either call someone to check in or start talking to each other."

"Could the local packs be part of things?"

"Do you have a lot of shifting employees?"

"A few dozen."

"I should be able to pick something up, but I didn't get anything from the two from Arkansas."

"We've never had any cooperation in my area, so that's very good to know… The staff meeting was set for midnight as you requested, in the meantime, why don't we get you all settled into your rooms?"

Sookie wasn't happy.

Salome intended us to share the posh 3 bedroom suite on the top floor and the rest of our party was to stay in standard double rooms on the third floor… As soon as the door was closed behind Salome, Sookie put her hands on her hips.

"This is _**not**_ cool."

"Sharing a room? There's three bedr…" I'd rather she stayed in the room with me, but I wouldn't be a prick about it. Well, maybe…

"Do you have a problem with staying in a normal room?" Fuck. I wished I could read her mind.

"No. I didn't plan the accommodations." If I had, we'd all have been staying on the same floor as a minimum.

"K…" She ran towards the door surprisingly gracefully given the height of the heel on her shoes and opened the door. "Excuse me, _Salome_."

Salome turned to face her from where they were all waiting for the elevator. I was preoccupied by watching Herveaux pull a tool from his pocket to remove a speaker from the wall and disconnect the wiring. "Yes Miss Stackhouse?"

"Sookie, _please_… I was wondering if the floor where everyone else is going to be has any vacancies."

"Certainly. Will others be joining you?"

"No. I'd just rather be closer to our guards. 19 stories is a long way."

"You'd rather…? I can put them in the suite next to yours if you prefer."

"Are you sure? Eric and I are fine with being in a…"

Salome gave a nod as she turned to come back down the long corridor. "I could hardly insult a fellow sheriff by putting him in an inferior room, let alone seem ungrateful of your help." _How about putting two of her queen's children in a substandard room and treating a lieutenant like a second class citizen? But it would be funny if Paulette's room was made of gingerbread and Herveaux and Cooper's bathroom was spread with newspaper._

Sookie turned for a moment and giggled. _She'd heard me again_. "What say the guards?"

The four of them shared a look before they either shrugged or nodded. Herveaux being the first, Cooper being the last (and begrudgingly at that).

I moved to stand behind Sookie. "That's very generous, Salome. Thank you... Paulette and Pam will stay in this suite. The Berts can share a room in the other suite so that everyone has some privacy." Cooper looked slightly relieved, but I couldn't have been sure why… I suppose it was a good thing that I knew a mind reader.

Once the extra people had gone again, Sookie and Paulette took the mysterious boxes to behind the counter of the bar and started unpacking them. Pam and I took seats across from them and watched. Most of it was food items, but there were several containers that could only have been the supplies Paulette needed for the wards she'd be performing.

"Since we haven't had the opportunity to speak with your guards, what are we dealing with?"

"Alcide is a trip. I like him already."

"How so?"

"Well, while we were still outside he was thinking, '_Why bother getting guards for her? With a mouth like hers, all she needs is gun_.' He'd already noticed and mentioned the Weres in the picket line too. He's hoping that I don't go off 'my leash' too much when you're not around. He's glad he split up with his girlfriend because she'd be 'having kittens' if she knew he was at a hotel with Maria-Star even if he is working. He isn't planning to or anything, but he thought about dickfacing one of the Berts. He knows better, but…"

I interrupted, "Dickfacing?"

She nodded. "It's a party prank. When someone passes out drunk, someone will draw on their face or tape them to a wall… it can get out of hand and, _boy_, I can tell you some stories about stuff people have thought about around me, but like I said, he isn't planning on doing it. The thought of scribbling 'balls go here' on Seigbert's chin and gluing the little hotel soaps into his hands popped into his head." The thought was even more amusing to me since I added a bib and diaper.

"As long as he knows better… Did you hear his reason for disconnecting the speaker?"

"He could hear it in here. He didn't want to get used to it and miss a sound in the hallway." I liked him already.

"We should get a box of biscuits to reward him… What about the bitch?"

Sookie gasped, "She's not a bitch."

"I wasn't referring to her personality. Female Weres are bitches."

Sookie cringed and bit her bottom lip. "Oh God, sorry… Uhhh, she's alright. When they were in the hall just now, she wasn't happy about being moved upstairs. She was thinking that she'd have to share a room with someone and she wasn't happy with any of the options."

"Herveaux?"

Sookie giggled, "The Jeffersons theme song." Paulette and Pam started laughing along with her and when they realized I had no idea what was so funny, the three of them started singing it…

"…_Well we're movin on up,  
To the east side.  
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.  
Movin on up,  
To the east side.  
We finally got a piece of the pie…"_

I wasn't laughing so much at Herveaux's thought as much as how childish my company was behaving.

I waited for them to be done with their silliness though. It was amusing to see Pam be frivolous when shopping wasn't involved. "So tell me about Cooper."

Sookie frowned. "When I first heard that Flood was sending a woman, I got my hopes up. I know the visitors like Alcide just fine, but… I didn't know _why_. I just thought I'd be more comfortable with her than a guy, I guess." I knew exactly why I preferred the idea of a female guard. 'Mine' was less likely to be a problem with a female.

"Has she given you something to worry about?"

"No. She'll do her job because she loves Colonel Flood like a father and doesn't want to disappoint him. She's just…" She seemed like she didn't want to finish her own sentence.

"She's just… What, Sookie?"

"Maria-Star thinks it's stupid that you hired a guard for a fangbanger when there's donors all over the place here. I like Alcide… he thinks I'm lucky to have been discovered by someone who'd get me a guard instead of lock me in a cage during the day." Yet another reason to like him. He was capable of seeing a bigger picture.

"Her opinion might change as she gets to know you." The saying always puzzled me, but Pam would've called it 'blowing smoke up her ass'. Cooper's opinion probably wouldn't change at all.

Sookie only shrugged in reply. She didn't believe it anymore than I did.

"What else?"

"Nothing really. I'm just getting spoiled, I guess. I was starting to get homesick until she came along. So I guess there's that."

"She's derogatory."

"Just the usual."

"But Herveaux isn't?"

Sookie shook her head and reached across the bar to take my hand and stayed alarmingly still for a few minutes. "Right now, she's freaking out about the possibility of being _raped and drained_ in her sleep and Alcide is worried that Cooper's too spooked to be any kind of guard. He's worried that when, not if, he says something to you about it you might take it the wrong way and think Flood would've sent a crybaby carelessly. He's thinking '_Flood would've understood if she just owned up about fangs creeping her out'_."

"If you leave the room, make sure _he's_ with you then… This is a good thing though. We both had our doubts about him. Yes?"

She grinned as she took her hand away to go back to her task. "Seeing and believing and all that?"

Paulette looked confused since she'd been kept out of the loop, but Pam snorted. "Ok. So when are you two going to stop pussy footing around everything else?"

Sookie narrowed her eyes and held her up her middle finger and Pam laughed, knowing that was all the answer she was going to get.

As planned, the four guards were back to our room within only a few minutes. They only left to deliver their things to their room and use their phones to check in with superiors…

Sookie didn't hesitate to greet them, shaking their hands and introducing them to everyone.

Once the litany of names and faces had been put together for the Weres, it left nothing but an awkward silence.

Sookie finally giggled. "Thank God I can only hear half of y'all… Alcide, Maria-Star, can I get y'all a beer or something?"

Cooper nodded, but Herveaux shook his head. "I know we're technically off until dawn and all, but I was wondering if I could tag along with y'all for a bit. Get the swing of things." Another point in his favor.

I nodded. "Have you never guarded a moving person before?"

He thanked Sookie with a nod for the can of soda she gave to him and watched Cooper take the offered beer like it was contaminated. "No. I've sat on places like I did with your bar a few times. Watched over folks in a controlled environment… the pop-star entourage thing is new to me."

"It'll be different tonight than it will be during the day. Tonight will be structured meetings. The days will be less controlled depending on how much Sookie can tolerate the saturation of being surrounded by humans."

He shook his head. "So… how does it work? Her thing? I thought Flood was full of shit until we checked in at the front desk… we're _'the telepath's guards'_."

I gave the floor over to Sookie and Herveaux looked surprised that I'd let her speak for herself. "Ummm… everyone is different, but it's like listening to a radio. In a crowd it can be hard to tell whose thoughts are whose unless I know them. Some folks are really tone deaf and have no idea what they sound like and that can throw me off. Pictures, voices… a little bit of everything."

"So anything that goes through anyone's head is yours for the listening?"

Sookie shrugged. "Pretty much. Not vampires. They're a big, fat, _beautiful_ nothing for me… and I can't get much of anything from daemons either." Sookie spared a disapproving look in Cooper's direction… whatever she'd thought in response to Sookie's explanation wasn't friendly.

"But you can hear us, Weres?"

"Yeah. I can tell y'all apart from them. You're a little harder to read than a human, but I hear you just the same…" She seemed to be studying him for a moment before she started laughing. "…_because hustling the poker tables would be wrong!_"

He chuckled at her. "That's some crazy shit, right there. So… you're here because of the Fellowship problems that Salome chick's been having?"

"Yeah. Looks like they're assholes in every area code. When we're done here, we'll be heading somewhere else with problems. I'm gonna forget my damn address by the time things settle down."

He gave her a thoughtful nod. "So out of curiosity, the sheriff said that nights would be easier for you, but there's always more people in casinos at night… what's that about?"

"It's hard to explain… long story short, Eric helps me focus. Kind of… like the difference between being on the floor in a crowd and having a bird's eye view."

He nodded again. "And what's your range like?"

"Pretty good. You and Maria-Star were about 200 feet away and I got that you two are Weres and standing with 4 vampires past all those humans."

He seemed slightly agitated for a moment before Sookie cleared her throat and darted her eyes in my direction; a cue that he wanted to discuss his concerns… So I invited him to speak privately and led him to the bedroom.

"Sookie heard your thoughts about Cooper's fears and told me about your concerns."

"Yeah, well… Colonel Flood wouldn't have sent Maria-Star if he knew how spooked she is… She started getting skittish as soon as Salome welcomed us in person and had us escorted over to one of the restaurants. She 'joked' that we were getting fattened like sacrificial lambs. To be honest, I don't think she knew she'd be so freaked either."

"If it weren't for Sookie's safety, I wouldn't give a shit. I've already told her that if she leaves the room during the day, you're to be with her."

"Do you want me to call Flood, have him send a replacement and send her home?"

"I didn't ask for both of you. He offered Cooper assuming that Sookie would be more comfortable with a female guard."

"She isn't?"

"Not with one that's more scared to leave the floor than she is. Since Sookie's schedule is shifting to be on vampire hours more, she won't be too demanding on you. Maria-Star can make herself useful by standing watch in the hall."

"The hall that your witch is going to be warding?"

"That's the one, but she isn't 'my' witch. Paulette's just my trusted employee."

"Gotcha… so, Sookie's daytime schedule?"

"There isn't one. She'll most likely take her meals in the restaurants downstairs and visit the pool to work on her tan as an excuse to listen to guests."

He started laughing. "Am I guarding her or having a damn sleepover?"

"Guarding her. Don't let yourself get spoiled. Word about her ability is only now becoming public. Any attempt made at night would be foolish on an epic level because she doesn't leave my side. Abducting or harming Sookie is only possible during the day. You'll need to be vigilant."

"You think someone wants her specifically? I thought this was just a precaution."

"Once word of Sookie's ability gets to certain people, they'll put things together and realize that she's an obstacle. This, as they say, is not a drill."

"Fuck… and your security team has a dud on it… how are Mutt and Jeff? Do they know their shit?"

"They're the queen's children. They've been keeping her alive for 800 years."

"No shit!? Sookie rates royal protection? She must be one hell of an employee."

"Sookie isn't an employee. She's mine."

Paulette was just cleaning up her supplies from warding our two suites to keep unwanted visitors at bay when Salome came to the door of the suite. The spell had been strong enough that Salome didn't want to leave the elevator… Paulette graciously accepted Salome's invitation for 'a little side work'… and I was complimented on my luck in finding both Paulette and Sookie… like I needed to be reminded.

As instructed, Salome had called the mandatory staff meetings by departments so that she could inform her employees about the hostile tactics being taken by 'church' members as we toured the hotel and casino from midnight to nearly 3 am. Out of the 614 employees that Sookie screened in small groups, she found plenty to keep Salome busy… 9 from Arkansas that were going to be 'gift wrapped' and sent to Andre... 22 that Sookie wanted to give more attention to, but assumed that they nervous because they were 'up to something' like thievery since most of them were casino workers… 49 people with varying degrees of church involvement, but only a dozen were a 'real problem'… and the 3 employees with no church affiliation who'd been disgruntled enough to stage the vandalisms.

Our last stop was 'Shed'. As in _blood_shed… almost as ludicrous (and amusing) as the queen's 'dining room'. Salome had started the rumor that there would be VIP's at the hotel to garner attendance. It was nothing more than a lounge where eager donors could collect and wait for a vampire to come along and choose them.

In the more relaxed atmosphere, Sookie and I, Pam and Herveaux were shown to a booth and the Berts took watchful positions nearby. While Pam made fun of the fangbangers in a failed attempt to appall Herveaux, Sookie all but disappeared from conversation for more than 20 minutes to listen to the thoughts of the donors in the lounge. The whole time, she absentmindedly ran the fingernails of her free hand up and down my thigh. Whether the tease was intentional or not, it was working.

When her eyes finally left the candle in the center of the table, her hand didn't stop. Intentional… and knowing that it was made me more anxious to return to our room than I thought was possible.

She cleared her throat and leaned over to Pam nodding in the direction of a woman at the bar. "The Eliza Dushku look alike?"

Pam smirked and started sliding out of the booth slowly. "I'm calling your brother to brag. He told me that you refuse to be _his_ wingman."

Sookie giggled and kissed Pam's cheek and started sliding out behind her. "Neither one of y'all need _my help_ getting girls to follow you into a dark room."

Pam stopped. "Where are you going? Feeling… _frisky_?"

She scoffed and shoved Pam playfully. "No. I'm feeling the 8 Red Bulls I had earlier. I'm going to the restroom… _I'm surrounded by perverts, I swear_."

Salome waited until Sookie disappeared into the hall to the bathrooms with Wybert just behind her before she began gushing over Sookie's ability and her behavior… Oddly, Herveaux had been unfazed as Pam called the donors everything from blood bags to cattle, but he showed his irritation to Salome's questions about how I disciplined Sookie… more so, the vagueness of my answers. He didn't know that Sookie wasn't punished because she didn't need to be so hearing that Sookie 'knows what's good for her' was unsettling for the mutt, amusingly so.

Sookie had declared herself the Berts' wingman as well and pointed them in the direction of their own 'safe' meal and Herveaux seemed to be making it a point to not look bothered until he excused himself to return to his suite…

When Salome said her farewells so that she could tend to the assholes that Sookie identified for her, Sookie and I found ourselves finally able to return to our suite.

Finally.

The elevator's other passengers prevented anything interesting from coming of most the ride, but until the last of our company left on the 14th floor, I enjoyed teasing Sookie by running my finger tips along the crease where her ass met her thighs…

I didn't care that the elevator was glass and open to the whole hotel because Sookie was just as nervous as she was excited…

I didn't wait for the door to close behind the last of the other passengers. I picked her up and pinned her to the glass wall behind her. The grunt she made when her back hit the wall became a giggle. "Everyone can see."

My hands slid under her panties, holding her to me, enjoying the warm, silky feel of her skin. She'd pushed and teased me so much that the way she squirmed made my fangs run out. "Good."

"We need to talk."

"No. We need to fuck."

"Not in here."

"But you're out of excuses."

She nodded, never taking her eyes from mine. "You can wait."

I growled, "What do I have to wait for this time?"

"Oh god! You act like…" She turned to look at the buttons on the elevator control. "…like behaving for 3 more floors is going to kill you."

I chuckled at her. "It could."

She bit the inside of her mouth. "You'll be just fine."

"What do we need to talk about?"

When the elevator doors slid open on our floor, I started for our room without setting her down. "Nothing. I was just stalling."

"We only have a couple of hours before sunrise. It's not like you to be so wasteful."

She giggled into my neck while I struggled with the keycard and lock to our room. "You whine a lot for a big, mean vampire."

"I'm not whining."

"You aren't winning any land-speed records either. What's the hold up?" She turned to check my progress.

"The squirming blond in my arms is the 'hold up'. Be still."

"I don't know if I could if I had to. Put me down."

"No. You'll get distracted by something shiny and run off."

She gasped, putting on her offence at the insult… _and then bit my neck_. If it hadn't been for a conscious effort to keep my mood light until we got into the room, I'd have hit the emergency stop for the elevator… the bite did everything to return the mood our shower had caused… _and the timing was 'perfect'_… I snapped the fucking keycard off in the slot. "Fuck!"

"What's wrong now?"

"I've broken the key. It's stuck in the lock."

"That's not funny."

"_Really? You don't say_."

She gave my cheek a half hearted slap for being a 'sarcastic asshole' and then contorted to look at the lock mechanism. "I have an idea."

"So do I. Mine involves a broken door frame. What's yours?"

"Crazy Glue. If we put some on a business card and then cram it in with the broken one…"

"That could work _if we had some Crazy Glue_."

She smiled, lifting her purse. "We _**do**_ have some."

"You carry Crazy Glue in your purse?" Crazy glue? My favorite prank ingredient? She carried it with her?

She held up the little tube and a business card from a tanning salon in Bon Temps. "Crazy Glue, a Swiss Army knife and a thing of Chapstick even though I don't wear any. A habit I picked up from Gran."

I set her down even if it was the last thing I wanted to do and knelt to deal with what I hoped would be my final fucking obstacle for the night…

Sookie let me get as far into the task as wedging the card into the slot, but while I stared at the lock, willing the fucking glue to set, she leaned down to start nibbling my ear.

I could have forgotten where we were… that less than a week before, she'd have flinched away from accidental contact… that she wasn't just what I was thinking about when I rose, but what I'd been thinking about when I died… that she was suddenly more important to me than anything…

My hand found her ankle, carefully pulling her closer before inching up her leg slowly, enjoying every delicious fucking curve along the way.

Her anticipation was only making mine more intolerable… my hand became tangled in her panties, wringing and waiting for some hint that she wanted more, that she'd not be preoccupied with where we were…

She twisted her hands into my hair, moving to kiss me… and straddling my knee to sit with her body pressed against mine…

She whimpered and pressed herself closer than my hands were already holding her.

Impossibly close.

In that moment, there was nothing innocent about her… nothing insecure or unskilled…

I needed, more than anything, to lose control… just give in to what I'd wanted from her for too long… take what I wanted, and deal with the repercussions later…

If Sookie had nipped at my chin just one more time, she'd have exhausted my willpower…

But she pulled away…

She looked nearly as feral as I felt just before she turned and reached for the door…

My eyes followed her hand, suspensefully watching her hand, her finger grasp the makeshift keycard…

Followed by the quick succession…

A yank. A beep. A click… she turned the knob and pushed the door open… it was still creeping back when she looked back to ask me what I was waiting for…

Not a single fucking thing.

Her panties were gone by the time my feet were under me…

And her dress and my shirt were lost along the way to our room… Shreds…

Our bed seemed miles away from the door…

Her legs were wrapped so tight that it was hard to get my hand between us… it was even harder to keep her still when I started rubbing her clit… I only tried to control her enough to not drop her…

As soon as her body touched the bed, I slid my fingers into her… her back jerked violently enough to move both of us…

So wet, so willing… she scratched and clawed at my back and shoulder desperately… and she still managed to tease…

Every move of my thumb over her clit…

Every thrust of my fingers…

Every time I watched a new sweep of chills ripple over her skin…

She wrenched and whimpered… digging her nails in, becoming more crazed.

The only part of her body she seemed in control of was one single foot as she passed it over my thigh… tickling her ankle back and forth over my balls…

Convulsing through her first orgasm, letting go of my shoulders only to claw at the bed…

It had been too easy.

She panicked when she realized I had no intention of letting her rest. When she let go of me, I moved down her body…

Pulling her legs away from my sides and pinning them back…

She gasped at the first touch of my tongue… I'd have given up blood if I could just exist on her cum…

Warm and sweet and pushing me closer to testing Sookie's limits…

_Candy…_

She moaned and squirmed, pulling my hair like she wanted me to stop, but pushing my shoulders closer with her heels...

Crying out when she came again… and moaning, begging me to stop when I didn't…

Milking her for everything I could…

Repaying the torment she'd given me for days…

Her clit throbbed against my tongue while my fingers dug deeper… I could hear her heartbeat drumming in her thighs…

Her breathing trembled between gasped obscenities and when she tried to quiet herself by covering her face with a pillow, I took it from her… _I was enjoying her noise too much._

I backed away slowly… taking my time as I inched away…

I was whined at when I left the bed completely to get rid of my pants. My only reason was to calm down even slightly…

She fidgeted restlessly while she waited, accusing me of _teasing __**her**__._

I hadn't even started teasing…

She tried to yank her leg away when I nipped at her ankle, but I pulled it back to me and held her still…

Inch by inch, I licked and bit as patiently as I could… she moaned and laughed, shivered and fought, called me a son of a bitch… a tease… a bastard…

And then she killed me.

Just as I'd crept past her nipples, "_Please… master_."

Suddenly, my patience wasn't the only thing that was gone… My sense of hearing was instantly hinged to the ache in my cock…

I released her wrists from where I'd been holding them to the bed and sat back…

She stared back at me long enough to be concerned, but I was waiting…

Waiting for shock to subside, waiting for the tunnel vision to wane, waiting for the mass of unexpected urges to settle back to within normal range…

Just fucking waiting… _master?_

But she didn't give me the chance…

Sookie pushed herself from the bed like she had gone wild… grabbing my chin to pull my still gaping mouth to hers…

She was determined enough to distract me from my reaction to prick her lips over my fangs…

Master?

The flash of her blood against my tongue was the last thing I could take…

I grabbed her legs, pulling them apart, wrapping them around me…

Lifting her when she wedged her hand between us to grab my cock and the last thing I did with any patience was lower her…

_Master?_

As my dick disappeared into her, her heat took me over. Her pulse was mine. The air heaving in and out of her chest, echoed for me…

Lifting and shoving her back down, bottoming out, craving her next throb…

Her hands…

One fisted into my hair, the other clawed into the back of my neck…

Hanging on for dear life…

She rested her forehead against mine, studying my eyes through dilated pupils and biting her lip…

Her sweat all but glued us together while she moved her hips, pitching and throwing them and only pushing me…

Until her throbbing stopped, the pressure forced down and her body clamped down around me…

_Master?_

Her head fell back and her pulse point vibrated its invitation… I sank my teeth in, letting her blood fill me instead of pulling…

And I came so hard that I fell forward, crashing into the bed on top of her.

My fucking eyes were clouded.

She panted under me, waiting for what she'd done to me to stop rocking through my body…

No one.

Ever.

As her fingertips drifted over the backs of my arms, her feet did the same along my legs…

When I finally rolled off of her, she followed, barely letting me break contact to snuggle against my side…

Her breathing still hadn't calmed down completely and I was still in my own daze when she shifted enough to look at the clock to discover what I was already feeling.

Sunrise.

She was pouting when she looked back to me…

Still, not a word had been uttered since she'd called me master…

She lifted her chin and gave me a long kiss goodnight until my body started to slip away…

Just in time for me to hear her, but not react…

She whispered that she loved me.


	11. Chapter 11

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 11**

**Goodwill**

As though I hadn't been dead for nearly 13 hours, my mind went straight back to what Sookie said as dawn took me…

She said she loved me.

She'd said it…

It wasn't a concept that I could ignore as Pam's hearsay anymore… Saying 'it' made 'it' real…

Like it wasn't bad enough that finding her little pro/con list had stirred too much curiosity when I thought I was starting to put the puzzle that was Sookie Stackhouse together…

I'd found her overactive conscience utterly adorable until I discovered that it had been such a large factor in risking her finances… Necessity was too closely related to greed, at least that much was common between humans and vampires. The threat of arrears should've inspired her to take the money whether trust was a factor or not.

And she took my blood rather than money. _Nevermind_ that she acted as though she was forced to choose between them. After everything we'd just learned from our visitors, she should have wanted nothing to do with the complication unless our company had more to do with her decision than Sookie was letting on…

I tried…

I tried my damnedest to blame it on romanticized notions of what she'd seen that night… The other Sookie had moved quickly enough to seem like a vampire and was strong enough to break up a fight in the bar with Pam… Even her shields were stronger. Her more trouble free life was something she thanked her Eric for. And she thanked 'God' for vampires because they were the 'best friends a telepath could have'…

But… at every turn, I went back to one contradiction…

Sookie didn't know I'd ever see her list and those reasons weren't on it.

Since I couldn't consider 'security' as selfishness, only survival instinct, the single self-centered item on her list was the 'vacation' she'd get from her injuries… Whether they heal quickly or not, I'd had broken ribs… knowing what that felt like, I was surprised she was so mobile… _knowing what it felt like_, I might have offered my blood to her out of mercy when she was still Bill's. That fuck, letting her leave the hospital before healing her would have been cruel to a normal human… letting Sookie, was blatantly vicious. Even though he cared nothing for her, she'd already proven her worth. He did need to die again. And again. And again… His maker was the only one left to pay for his mistakes… I'd have fun making it happen too.

And there I was… imagining what I'd do to the maker of Sookie's stain of an ex 'boyfriend' since he was too dead to take the punishment I thought was proper… tethering the forsaken twat to my seat onstage at Fangtasia with a silver collar and taking the occasional lap around the bar, gluing pennies to her to remind her of her worth, inviting the depraved mawks to spit on her, humiliating her…

Like her child humiliated Sookie…

A human.

I rolled my eyes at myself as I realized that I was already more attached to Sookie, more protective of her, more concerned with and for her than anyone ever.

All it really took was one stray thought…

'I'd give anything but Sookie to be able to get my hands on Compton.'

Pam was going to have a fucking field day.

I was only 'awake' for a few minutes when I heard Sookie's laughter in the distance. It was loud and pure and got louder once the door to our suite opened.

Herveaux was with her. "I'm going to run over and pretend to need a break so Maria-Star earns her keep. You all set, _princess_?"

"Stop calling me that... I'm good. Eric'll be up in a few and I need to start getting ready for later."

"I'll stop calling you one, when everyone stops treating you like one… I'll see you in a bit."

When the door opened, Sookie was still grinning as she headed directly to the bed… and settled next to me like she had been when I died with her head on my chest and her leg hitched over mine.

That smell again.

She carried the scent of Paulette and Herveaux with her from having been in their company, but it was the proverbial pea under a mattress in comparison…

And the heat of the sun was still lingering, warming the air around Sookie like she was emitting the warmth herself…

"You came straight from the pool?"

"You mean, _knowing what happened last time?_ Yes."

"Why?"

She shrugged and rested her chin on my chest to look at me. "You like it."

I rolled us over to lie on top of her, taking in as much as I could without letting myself become irritated that I didn't have the time I wanted. I could just as easily disappear in her scent as she disappears into my chasm of a mind. "But I 'like' the way you smell when you don't bathe yourself in the equivalent of vampire ecstasy too."

She laughed in her throat while I pushed her T-shirt up her sides. "That's sweet, but you're full of crap." If I didn't have my nose against her stomach and my dick pressed into her leg, I might have been able to deny it with a straight face.

I chuckled at her. "You smell sweet, like sugar. Say what you will, that is very enjoyably distinctive."

She wriggled, pulling her shirt up to take it off. "What do normal people smell like?"

"Shit."

Sookie rested her hands on my head while she laughed. "That's just wrong! Even if some of us have bad hygiene, be nice."

"Hygiene has nothing to do with it. They smell like shit and food and their stale houses. They smell like their pets and their jobs and their own disgust as well as everyone they spend their time with… They reek. And why should I be nice?"

"Because they can't help that you can smell a mouse fart from a mile away… those 'nasty humans' have kept you alive for a long time. I love a good burger, but I don't hate cows for being cows."

When I laughed into her side because she made a fair enough point, she twitched away from the tickle. "Ah, but none of them were as delicious as you are."

"Are we still talking about how I smell or did we move on to how I taste?"

"Both are true."

She snickered, "You sure know how to flatter a girl."

"I must be a natural. I don't have any practice at it."

"Really?"

"Why bother? You're the first thing I've wanted in a very long time."

"Thing?" Obviously, a poor choice of words.

"I didn't mean some 'thing' to be disregarded; junk mail or pocket change or something to feed from… I meant wealth or power or _Sookie_… 'Things' that are worth starting a war to protect."

Her body seemed to get warmer when she purred, "Nice recovery, vampire, but I wouldn't fight for money or control."

"Of course _you_ wouldn't, but you would fight to prove your brother's innocence."

"Because I care about _him_."

"Proving my point… The American South fought over wealth. Sophie-Ann battles for power and I would most definitely kill for you."

"There's not much point in that. Since you already 'have' me and all."

"To keep you. You're mine."

"I'm my own."

"Would you be comfortable if I called you 'my designated fuck'?"

She gasped, "No."

"How about 'my hot pocket'? That's what you called it, yes?"

"That's what I called it… and no, that wouldn't be cool."

"The telepath in my protection?"

"Slightly less irritating, but still no."

"Even though you _**are**_ all those things?"

She groaned as I tore myself away from her scent to look at her. "Now you're just making fun of me, you big jerk."

"I'm not. Explain why the concept of being mine bothers you."

"Being yours doesn't bother me. The terminology does."

"Because 'mine' carries the nuance of a thing to be possessed?"

"Yes. Absolutely. _My_ toy. _My_ keychain. _My_ whatever."

"You're being too particular about verbiage based on human conventions then."

"You're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"Being dismissive of humanity like being human is something I can ignore. It might have been a long time ago, but you were just as freakin' uncultured as me once."

"Fair enough. I apologize… Let me try another approach then?"

She rolled her eyes, clearly _humoring_ me. "Go ahead. Give it a shot."

"If we were more '_conventional'_, you wouldn't mind being _my_ girlfriend… married; _my_ wife… simply working together; _my_ telepath… just under my protection; _my_ charge…"

She groaned. "Uh huh… get to the part where you're going to bullshit me about 'mine' being a _term of endearment_ to vampires."

"I don't take the word lightly, Sookie."

The defiant crease between her eyebrows made its showing. "Really? Fingers and toes, both of us here… can you count how many 'mines' you've had? I mean, over a thousand years…"

"As a vampire?"

She rolled her eyes and nodded, assuming I was trying to cheat on her little test, no doubt.

I took her hand from my chest and curled her pinky and ring finger over… and waited.

"Three? Three what, like three dozen, three hundred?"

"Just three…" I pointed to each one of her remaining fingers as I counted. "My maker. My child. My Sookie. If you include anyone I might have given my blood to for one reason or another, you might be able to fill both hands."

"Seriously?"

"Even when it comes to you, there is a difference between _your_ junkmail and _your_ Gran. I'll admit that you'd be hard pressed to find a vampire who doesn't mean 'my special fuck and suck' when claiming a pet, but you're much more than a pet to me."

"Yeah, I'm a telepathic pet."

"You had my attention before I knew you were a telepath."

"But… why? I mean, honestly… I saw plenty of people at Fangtasia that night…"

"Maggots."

"…At the very least, _willing donors_… I saw them trying to get your attention. I walked in with another vampire. You didn't have any reason to believe that I wasn't just his pet."

"First of all, Bill Compton was claiming to be mainstreaming so he wouldn't keep a pet. Secondly, he certainly wouldn't allow you to dress like you did around other vampires because he was an insecure, daft fuck. Thirdly, and most importantly, he wouldn't rate someone like you."

"But he did eventually 'get' me." How could I forget that?

"I'll clarify… he wouldn't _normally_ deserve a prize like you. If he had used honorable tactics, you'd have never been more than a friendly neighbor to him. My first thought when I saw you, with him… 'I wonder if that bottom feeder glamours her to fake it'."

She furrowed her brow. "_Then __**you**__ tried to glamour me_!"

"I only wanted to draw you over to me so that I could… I was going to have you sit on my lap just to fuck with the insignificant prick for not checking in with me. I was _exceedingly_ bored."

She giggled, "Shame on you… So that's it. I stood out because me and…"

I cut her off with a growl. Hearing 'me and Bill' cross her lips in any capacity would have added to my plans for Compton's pathetic excuse for a maker.

Without needing to hear my reasons, Sookie seemed to understand. "So the odd couple thing caught your eye?"

I nodded. "Initially. The way you shrugged off my influence like it was nothing more than a slight breeze intrigued me… But it was actually meeting you that stuck with me…"

"See, the telepathy."

"You asked. Do you want my answer or do you want to continue to assume?"

"Sorry."

"Admittedly, I'd have enjoyed nothing more than to take you back to my office as soon as I smelled you, but it was when you were introduced to me… You answered Pam tamely and Bill grabbed your arm… Any normal human, fangbanger or otherwise, would have been intimidated enough to cower with an apology. Even though it looked like he was pinching your arm firmly enough to leave a bruise, the look you gave him was priceless."

"The way I looked at him? Seriously?"

"You looked like you were going to hit him… Pam called it a 'Bitch_, I'll end you_' look… I didn't care what you said, there was no way I believed that you were his pet… Even if you were what I know of his type, you were more in control of the situation than he was."

"His type?"

"The 'willing donors'. The piteously subservient with the 'as you will' mind-set. The ones who want to be abused and utilized as breathing blood taps, who dress as though Marilyn Manson is the Grand High Poobah of vampires… too ignorant to know that our senses give away their disgusting drug use and, yes, poor hygiene. He enjoyed what I find disgraceful yet lucrative… in fact I was told by our company that _Mr. Mainstreaming_ enjoyed a 3 course meal in their version of events..."

"So being too…"

"You're interrupting me again."

She cringed. "God. _Sorry_."

"It was your appearance that made you stand out, but it was your nerve that made me want to relieve you of his company… by the time you revealed your ability, I was already making a list of ways to lure you away from Compton."

"Long Shadow?"

"My curiosity about your gift was a great excuse to see you again. I was _not_ disappointed to see that you really are just as determined and sassy consistently."

She stared at me for a moment, seemingly waiting. It was amusing to say the least.

"I'm done."

"That's it?"

"Does there need to be more? Even the fangbangers who want my attention are still afraid when they get it."

"Well, we met and then you had Bill bring me to Fangtasia about the missing money… Then… the next time you saw me, you let 'me' climb all over you and…" Commit aggravated sexual assault? So. It would've been the most fun I'd had in a century.

"There was the hospital too."

"The hospital? Oh, yeah… Hey, how _did you_ hear about what happened?"

"Paid informants. I have a few sets of eyes and ears who call me whenever a vampire related patient is treated so that I can keep a handle on my Area. I had a voicemail waiting at sunset about a girl that was nearly beaten to death for being a fangbanger… I hoped it was just another one of Lanier's victims so that I'd have an excuse to see you."

"You were floating outside my window…"

I smiled at her, understanding more since our conversation about her pro/con list. "You don't remember talking to me, do you?"

"Talking to you? _I guess not_… I was pretty out of it though. I was on **a lot** of painkillers."

It wasn't the medication. I was sure it was part of her consciousness… a side effect of her gift. "You explained what happened quite thoroughly. I offered to kill him since Bill was missing, but you asked me to glamour him to confess instead. That there had been enough killing."

She laughed in her throat. "I don't remember any of that, but that explains a lot… The look on Andy's face when he said Rene wouldn't stop talking…"

"Andy is… the _oaf detective_?"

She nodded. "You sent me flowers."

"Actually… that was just to irritate Bill. Since I couldn't find him and you refused to be healed, I assumed he'd at least be calling you. If you mentioned that we'd talked and I sent flowers…"

"That he'd beat feet home and tend to me because you were _circling_." _Hindsight_… I would have just healed her while she was unconscious since that prick left her to suffer.

"No one knew what he was planning, Sookie."

"It's just Gran, you know… Everything else worked out for the best… It's what happened to Gran that hurts. Especially knowing that she still had plenty of time left in her… That she didn't make it to see her house finally get paid off or… I know she'd be excited to see Hadley again, to see that Jason didn't go to jail, for all the stuff going on with me… " She had every fucking right to be bitter about _everything_.

"The 'stuff' going on with you? You mean having your ability exposed and exploited in a vampire coup?"

"To see me able to do something positive with my ability, yeah… and she used to fuss a lot that I should just use my shields so that I could date…"

"So that you could date?" It wasn't until after I'd asked that I realized that human men would be intolerable to her, explaining why Bill Compton won her first 'second date'.

"Yeah… so that I wouldn't have to deal with the guys' thoughts… She called me a silly romantic, but I didn't think it was too much for me to be able to just relax."

"You think you can relax with me?"

She smiled from ear to ear. "Completely." _That's insane… _

"I could be replaced with any other vampire though."

Her fingers stopped working through my hair to become fists just behind my ears. Just a gentle tug, but it was enough. "Why would I replace you? You're _mine_." She licked her lips with a smirk, as though she was daring me to contradict myself with an argument about being 'claimed'. That wasn't going to happen_… I wanted to hear her say it again_.

"Good. Now that we've established that you're my tenacious little telepath and I'm your vampire, can we go back to the 'designated fuck' part of the conversation?" I buried my nose in the puddle of her hair to enjoy the sunlight again and pressed into her.

She giggled and pushed my shoulders so I lifted before I could get carried away. "I'd love to, but I don't think we have time. I need to get a shower… and you're still all kinds of nasty from this morning."

"I won't be bathing. I want to walk around all evening smelling like the fun we had."

She gasped, "Oh. No. You. Don't."

"Why not?"

"Because that's just tacky! Besides, what would happen when all the other vampires catch the smell of sunlight on you?… _How about…_ a compromise?"

I lifted her arm to bring her wrist to my nose, taking in as much of her sunshine as I could before I'd have to unavoidably let her up. "I'm half listening."

She giggled. "Will you take a shower if I go with you? Two birds, one stone?" She had stellar negotiating skills.

"If you shower, my treat will wash away."

"I'll bring you a refill tomorrow night. Promise. Besides, you said you like the way I smell without it too." Fuck. That had been stupid.

"A counter offer… I can call Salome to explain that you are unwell and taking the night off. We can lock ourselves in this room… so I can keep you to myself all night."

I felt a wave of disappointment from her, but it showed in the way she looked back at me too. She'd have been just as happy to stay in as I would have. "A shower for two and I'll come down with a migraine at 2am?"

"Deal."

Once I set her in the tub, I untied the strings on her bikini and tossed them over the wall while she turned on the water. _I was surprised that I'd let them last so long._

She shied away from the spray, stepping around it, towards me... "No sense in washing away your 'treat' just yet."

She could be too much.

_Accidentally_ _seductive_...

She hated that she was naïve, but if she were more experienced she'd know how dangerous she was...

Crystalline blue eyes drawing me down to her...

Stealing my lips for a minute before letting me enjoy just a bit more of her enslaving scent. I hadn't been lying; her normal essence was powerfully pure, almost virginal… and the mystery of how she can steal sunlight, smuggle it to me like reminiscent contraband could go unsolved forever…

Her little fingers rubbed and tugged my ears while I drifted down her body smelling as much of the bed as her day by then, but it was enough.

She sighed as I reached her waist, letting go of my ears and turning her back to me… a fresh expanse of her skin…

The smell, the taste…

The texture changes. As I bit and licked, sliding along her flesh…

Softer than the most precious silk… then rigid and punched by chills that seemed to spell her wants out to me…

My senses were greedy enough to hold off my body's urges for long enough…

Standing again to enjoy her hair again delivered my cock to her reach and once she touched me, grabbed it, pulled, squeezed, worked… I broke.

The way she was standing… facing away from me… not bashful anymore… trusting.

I pulled her to me, using her hair to turn just her head to face me… watching her eyelids flutter when I reached between her legs, pushing through the warm gathering of dew, sliding my fingers into her slowly, memorizing her contours to use them against her later…

Bringing her hips around, lifting her willing legs… pushing into Sookie slowly enough to be punished with her frustration…

But she still surrendered to me… moving at my pace, without resistance, entrusting no less than her body to me.

She stretched, reached, begged without a word _only empty lips_ for a kiss…

I was still plagued by the one time she'd taken my blood from me… the concentration of bliss it had to offer… I hated that we couldn't spare the time… but I was too gluttonous to ignore the temptation…

Her eyes locked on my lips, studied my fangs as I pushed them into my lip… not enough to complete the bond yet… hoping that the small amount would bring on a hint of what we'd eventually enjoy from sharing… testing what I'd been told…

Sookie didn't wait for me to come to her. Quickly enough to surprise me, she'd grabbed my shoulders to lift herself… wrapping her lips around mine, drawing my blood into her…

Undone…

It wasn't a gradual accumulation.

The moment our blood began to mingle on our tongues, the urgency of every impulsive craving I had intertwined with hers and became magnified, amplified… _overwhelming_.

In the blurred craze of clawing and biting and fucking, I only fully remember the look in her eyes.

More.

The recollection of that needy, wanton stare was the only thing to buffer my confusion as to why I was heaving for air when it was all over.

She was still panting, trembling and resting her head against my shaking shoulder. "You don't have to do that."

"Do what?"

"Breathe. It doesn't freak me out that you don't need to."

"I'm trying to stop."

"What? Is that… Did he tell you…?"

"It wasn't part of my warning. He must have gotten used to it."

"You're alright otherwise though, right?"

"I think so."

"Is that going to happen every time?"

"I… Sookie, I don't think that was the complete scenario."

"Tell me you're kidding."

"I'm not."

"How… No way… how could that be…?"

"More insanely unhinged? More carnally satisfying? I don't know." But I wanted more… all of it.

She giggled lazily against my neck. "I guess I need to take a night off soon then, huh?"

"The sooner, the better."

"I thought you were waiting because the next time I have your blood could cause a bond?"

"Waiting for you, nothing more."

She didn't reply, though her excitement gave her away. I'd have bonded to her last night if I'd only known she was ready for it… but I couldn't let myself be disappointed…

Her leg slid over my hip slowly, then the other so that she could test her stability… waiting for me to step away from having her all but crushed against the wall…

When I finally managed to stop breathing, take control of my impossibly heavy legs, she wobbled and laughed at herself.

She quickly shampooed her hair, then scrubbed herself, then rinsed… all while beaming pure determination…

And when she stepped out of the tub, already wrapping a towel around herself, she mused that she was already feeling a headache coming on.

Sookie was standing at the mirror to apply her makeup while I went to the closet… She was curiously quiet and feeling slightly anxious.

"I was too distracted to ask. How were things in the casino today?"

"Not too bad… Well, considering how many people there were. I didn't find anything outside of the realm of what you'd expect in a place like this though."

"A place like this?"

"Greed and excess… that's why folks come here, right?"

"You're right about that… So there isn't a problem with the church or Arkansas?"

"No sir. Not today there wasn't. I'm going to make a pass or two tonight though." I'd have been surprised if she didn't want to.

"Of course… If there isn't any kind of threat on your mind, what are you anxious about?"

She narrowed her eyes and gave a half-serious scowl to my reflection. "Cheater."

"What? You're apprehensive about something."

"I want to ask you for a favor."

"Did you fuck me beforehand in the hopes that I'd be more pliable?"

I was met with disgust. It was written all over her face and practically abusing my connection to her feelings.

"I was making a joke, Sookie."

She sucked her teeth and shook her head. "_Here I thought_ that if I asked before we had sex that you'd think I'd hold out if you told me no. That's what I get for thinking, I guess."

"I probably would've made that joke instead, if that had been the case. I want to hear the favor though. Truly."

"It's kind of a two-parter. First, I want you to keep a secret."

"_Want_? Not need?"

"I don't need you to, but I'd be grateful. It's not a matter of life or death. It's actually something I'm pretty excited about and I could keep it from you without you ever knowing… but, I don't want to hide anything from you." Hiding things becomes lying, lying becomes betrayal… the slippery slope… trusting her was just too important to me.

"I wouldn't want that either… What's the second part?"

"I want you to consider helping someone."

"Who and how?"

"The who is the secret. The how is giving her some guidance."

"What kind of guidance?"

"I'm going to keep that to myself until you decide on the first part of the favor, K?"

"In essence, you've met a female at some point who would benefit from some direction." Fuck. Could she be more vague? She was spending too much time with vampires.

"Bingo."

"How much time do I have to make the decision?"

"I'm meeting her for dinner at 10 o'clock. You don't have to decide by then, but I'd like for you to go with me to meet her. Like I said, it isn't a matter of life and death." _Who the fuck would she want __**me**__ to give advice to? A fresh vampire? Someone looking to hide a body?_

"Is Pam invited?"

"No. Paulette is going on an errand for me. She's inviting Pam to go with her so they can shop after. The big mall here is open until midnight."

"This secret deserves a diversion?"

"For now. Paulette thinks it's because I want to be alone with you though."

"And Alcide?"

"He doesn't know anything either. And before you ask, I'm going to find dinner for the Berts just before too." There wasn't a single forgivable reason for HER GUARD to be oblivious that she'd made dinner plans, not with his hearing being supposedly heightened.

"What's the errand Paulette is going on?"

"That's a secret. Unrelated though."

"More secrets?"

"Not for long. Promise..." She giggled and began putting her makeup away. "It's really not a big deal, Eric. In the scheme of things it doesn't really make any difference. In fact, I'll probably tell you anyway once my dinner is over if you opt to say no. K. Seriously, don't worry about it."

"If I agree now, do I get the details of the favor?"

"No…" She winced and turned to lean against the dresser. "The thing is, hell, this is hard to do without giving anything away… Um… You'll know right away what kind of guidance I'm talking about when you meet her, but I have my reasons for not telling you before." I could only call the tension of not knowing more than I did 'maddening'.

I startled her by how quickly I crossed our room to stand directly in front of her and fake the seriousness that usually broke Pam. "You realize that I could torture you to get that information now, yes?"

She smiled, resting her hands on my chest. "You mean like the 'punishment' I got last night? Bring it."

If I hadn't laughed, I probably would have stolen her towel from her and tossed her to the bed to do just that. Right then. Right there. Just seeing that flirtatious little gleam in her eyes… "I'm too intrigued to wait until after your dinner meeting. It seems like you're getting at least the first half of your favor."

"What about the other half?"

"I can't think of a reason that I'd refuse, but I don't want to make any promises I'd have to renege on."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. I'm still unsure of how much 'guidance' I can offer."

She stretched up on her toes for a kiss. "Not for that… thanks for not giving me an empty promise."

I took my laptop to the sofa in the living room so that I could create the illusion of business as usual for Fangtasia. Not tending to the bar could give away that I knew about the bombing ahead of time.

It was better to distract myself from Sookie's short pink robe anyway. She was helping Paulette apply aloe to her sunburned shoulders when Pam emerged from her bedroom. Red lace bra and panties (probably a g-string) and a matching red kimono, open of course.

The silly brat yawned and stretched as though either were necessary, getting a giggle out of Sookie and Paulette in the process. She sympathetically mentioned Paulette's sunburn, but followed up with 'better you than me'… It still earned a snicker.

Pam made her way to me, nudging my computer out of the way to use my leg as a pillow.

I was rolling my eyes when I looked down at her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm lodging a complaint."

"_About_…?"

"In regards to you. I don't know what you and Sookie were talking about…"

"If you're going to make fun of me then shouldn't you be doing it from further away?"

"I'm not making fun… I was just going to mention how idiotically peaceful you seemed when I rose. You're usually abusing me with tension from annoying business matters. I was happy as a clam to go to rest with a full stomach and saddleburns from that buckaroo of a donor Sookie found for me… but waking up to an unfamiliar nirvana… _that's just spectacular_." She was using the amusingly quixotic tone that usually came when trying to convince me that she needed a new fur or car. A purr and a whine rolled into one.

"She came to bed directly from sunbathing so we both rose in a good mood. What is the complaint?"

"That you didn't find her sooner."

I snorted at her. "I'm so very happy that you approve."

"No. You're just _happy_. Have you even realized it yet?"

"Go away."

"I'll leave you alone about it; I like the side effects too much… well, last night was a little excessive, but…"

"What about last night?"

"You were very close to killing someone for a minute. Did you two argue?"

"No."

"Something happened?"

"No."

"Did it have something to do with the broken keycard attached to a discount card for Jethro's Tan & Wax or whatever?"

"Yes."

"And the lacerated clothing strewn about?"

"Yes."

"And the wailing and groaning and…"

"Pam."

She giggled, "Yes?"

"Go away."

"You don't mean that. You love me." I'd have jokingly denied it if it weren't for how recently I'd almost lost her.

"Then stop annoying me."

"Send me shopping."

"Haven't you done enough shopping?"

"There's no such thing as _enough shopping_. I think I'm going to enjoy our little vacation... Can I move in with you? Your house has fabulous closet space."

"Those aren't closets. They're extra bedrooms."

"Same thing… and all that wasted cabinet space in your kitchen..."

Sookie joined the conversation by kissing the side of my neck and sliding over the back of the sofa to rest on her knees next to Pam's legs. "Am I interrupting?"

My 'no' was hardly noticed from Pam's bleating. "Eric has 5000 square feet of unused space in his house and he won't let me move in with him."

Sookie looked at her like she was waiting for more information or a punchline. She finally offered an unfeeling, 'Waah' before she completely changed topics. "So what's with the computer? Are y'all ordering beer so it doesn't look like you knew?"

I couldn't help but smile. "Yes."

She stared blankly for a moment. "Seriously?"

"Not literally. I made a schedule that the staff won't need and emailed it to Ginger and ordered a new refrigerator."

"Ok. Wow… I was kinda just joking… Hey Pam, Paulette's running an errand for me in a few minutes. Then she's going to the mall… it's open 'til midnight."

"What kind of errand?"

"A secret errand that you'll be told about by Paulette once Eric can't hear about it."

Pam was off of the sofa and on her way back to her room within a second. Brat. "Get ready to go, witch. We have things to do."

As soon as Pam's door slammed shut, Sookie started laughing. "That was easy."

"She loves nothing more than to know something I don't."

She started crawling along the sofa towards me slowly and straddled my lap. "I'll have to keep that in mind."

I couldn't keep from pulling her closer, rubbing her body against mine. "Have you changed your mind about staying in?"

"No. I still hate that we have more responsible stuff to do."

"Then you're teasing me."

I watched her smile disappear against my neck… her lips were so close to my skin, the warmth was like a haunting sweeping over me inch by miserable inch, slowly to my ear. She breathed, _"Do you want me to stop?"_ No.

"I want to be able to follow through."

"You know I do too."

"What you're doing is sadistic."

She purred, "Don't exaggerate. You're being a brat about being patient… You said it yourself… it isn't torment. _It's a promise_."

"You think you're clever, don't you? _Using my own words against me_."

Her coy little giggle rattled through to my fingertips. She started to nibble again. My ear. My neck... Along my chin... Grinding her hips into my lap more and more as her mouth closed in on mine... She dragged out a kiss, rocking back and forth, not seeming to care that we would need to stop. I was at her mercy, and loving every second of it, until there was a knock on the door.

I'd been wrong…

The next four hours was going to be _**torment**_.


	12. Chapter 12

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 12**

**More Like Blood**

At exactly 8 o'clock the elevator doors slid open to reveal Salome and her annoying youngest child… her reason for asking me about my discipline methods. Mickey was a waste as a vampire and staking him would have been a favor to society at large. The one time I'd had the misfortune of his company, he ruined 2 of the queen's donors… Considering the tandem grunts from the Berts, they might have had to clean up Mickey's mess. His death was most likely the best thing to ever happen to his family.

He elbowed his maker while he eyed Sookie intensely and it needed to stop. Mine. _My pet in the short, backless black dress_. Mine.

"Hey Sal, how come you don't hold my hand like that? That's the sweetest thing I ever saw."

She rolled her eyes. "See what I mean?" She'd called him irredeemable the night before.

"I do. I have a box at home. I'll have it sent to you."

Mickey bore his fangs, hinting that he might have heard about it already, but his maker's eyes lit up. "What kind of box?"

"Pam's invention, actually. It's a simple wooden cube, lined with a silver cage and has tiny little holes drilled into the top. She painted it pink, but after a couple of days in the sun, the inhabitants tend to learn their lesson. She calls it her 'Boîte de Taches de Rousseur'."

An evil grin crossed her face. "I don't know why you'd part with such a brilliant device. I think I might just talk to your Pam about how to assemble my own_ 'Freckle Box'_." She made sure to get Mickey's attention with the translation making him take a hard swallow. The mere idea of being sun-scorched in little increments was enough to make him think twice about his mouth… I was more concerned with Sookie's possible reaction to the subject matter, but she was too busy being amused… maybe with Mickey's reaction, but probably with Pam's 'artistic' vision.

"If you're sure. She's quite enamored with her latest invention. Another box… two holes in the side allow for feet or hands to be shackled outside with silver… She only uses it when the weather calls for the sky to be overcast though. She wants it to scorch, not cauterize."

"I _love_ it. It's a stockade for vampires… Pam and I will definitely need to talk."

I nodded. "Torture and couture."

Sookie giggled quietly. "That's Pam."

Salome turned her attention to Sookie. "Speaking of Sheriff Northman's collection of talented treasures… What does fair Sookie have to offer this evening?"

Sookie smiled demurely. "Aww, you're too nice… I spent a few hours on the floor today. There wasn't any of the mess we're worried about from the customers that I found. Some business related stuff though. Employees."

"That's quite the relief. Surprising though since daytime would be the wisest time to try to learn about operations."

"I didn't trust it either. I think it was probably a fluke unless their plans aren't broad spectrum. You know, if they want to go after certain individuals. Plus the nature of my ability makes it kind of hard to tell. They have to be thinking of a certain thing. It's more like a radio than a book. I plan on doing more rounds tonight and tomorrow though… and… if you make a list of certain people I should pay special attention to, that might help."

She nodded astutely. "Mickey. The security force. Inform them to make note of suspicious individuals…"

"Why do I have to go _now_? I wanna hear what the tart has to say that's so important." He was dangerously close to being broken. Even the Berts were annoyed. He had no idea how bad for his 'health' insulting Sookie could be.

Without as much as a look from his maker, Mickey gave a loud grunt as he bent in half hugging his sides. _A maker's 'call'_. I'd never used the technique with Pam because my maker used it with extreme frequency and zeal. When I was young enough to not know my place, I'd have called silver my friend in contrast to the feeling of having my body turned inside out. Come to think of it, even now. But considering he was decades old and I was still considered a 'newborn' when I learned to avoid the behavior that invited the punishment, Mickey didn't have any fucking excuse.

Sookie's arm twitched against mine, but she stilled herself. Her instinct to help him in spite of his insult… too kindhearted at times.

Once Mickey made his apology from the floor, he was released to follow his orders. Salome offered a contrite nod. "My apologies. I really am at a loss over his discipline."

I returned the nod, still puzzled by Sookie's response to the incident. She'd felt nothing from the insult, followed by concern for his punishment… and then the sudden tension she felt _after_ Salome's apology.

She hid her feelings well enough though. Her face was as bright as usual when she let go of my hand to go to her purse and pull out a sheet of paper. She took my hand again once the sheet was in Salome's grasp. "You have a couple of pit bosses who are skimming. A mechanic who's stealing from the slot machines to help him with child support. The bartender by the pool is drinking on the job _A LOT_. The housekeeper was upset that she couldn't get into our room because she has a way to get safe combinations and she has ours. She made it a point to get it because vampires tend to keep 'good stuff' in them. A reservation clerk is letting her brother stay for free between apartments. That's pretty much it."

"Pretty much?"

"Well, yeah… from today. I mean, you've got a waitress on the breakfast shift who spat on a nasty patron's food, but I've done worse… a blackjack dealer who let a hospitality manager get her pregnant, but it's not sexual harassment because they're not in the same department… a maid who's dumb enough to take mini fridge leftovers home to her kids, but that's just bad judgment… and the clerk at the boutique was plenty helpful when we stopped to get my guard a bathing suit, but he spent a lot of time picturing Alcide skinny dipping. That's just funny… interesting, but not worth much attention considering what I'm really listening for."

Salome closed her eyes for a moment and then rolled her lids open slowly. "After hearing all of that, how are you able to work tonight?"

Sookie shrugged. "I'm a little worn, but I should be able to make it for a while yet." She felt perfect. 100% healthy with plenty of energy… she was setting up her impending headache. Salome didn't have to know the true reason for my proud grin. It was fine that she thought I was proud of Sookie for her determination rather than her ability to hide a lie under the truth.

"In regards to the staff, were they courteous as far as you and your guard were concerned?"

"Oh, yes ma'am. Especially one of you concierges. Sydney. When she tracked us down at breakfast with a huge binder, we'd barely looked at the menus. She took notes on everybody's preferred blood types so that she could contact plenty of donors. She suggested all kinds of sightseeing. She arranged for a car so that Paulette and Pam can run some errands tonight… She was really friendly and actually disappointed that we didn't ask for more since her department head made it seem so important to keep us happy."

"Excellent. Are there any other promotions I should consider giving?"

Sookie giggled. "No ma'am. I'll let you know though."

"At the risk of accusations of being altruistic, I'm sure the vampires in my area would appreciate some insight about their pets… but with the circumstances, do you foresee being available for a clinic?"

Sookie's eyes rolled up, studying the ceiling for a moment before I felt her idea come to her in wave of satisfaction. "I could do it during the day tomorrow."

"That hardly seems possible."

"Sure it is. I'm not reading the vampire. Their pets and day guys could come to me. I'll stay downstairs, by the pool, in the restaurant or in Shed since it'll be quiet… if you get in touch with everyone tonight… have them send their pets with their payment, a signed disclaimer and a separate note if they're worried about something specific and how I can get in touch with them with results like text or email… they could have word waiting when they wake up."

"_You aren't reading the vampire_… but… there could be dozens, hundreds… and…"

"I can work out the details on the fly if I have to… but the pets don't even have to know what they're bringing me… I mean, all they have to say is 'my master, Eric Northman told me to bring this to you and wait for a message'. I might have to have some vampires come in tomorrow night for bad news, but I'm sure that I can swing it… I'll do it tomorrow night too. You can send out word at sunset for stragglers that way I'm less distracted from the casino at night."

"You could hear effectively with so much commotion?"

"As long as Eric is with me, I'll have no problem… and during the day I'll stick to the pool and Shed… If I'm wrong then a lot of folks will wake up to refunds and texted apologies, but I think it'll work."

After excusing herself to spread the word so that she didn't waste any more of Sookie's 'valuable time', Sookie paved the way into the casino.

Wybert actually grunted 'smarter than Hadley too' to his brother in Old Saxon…

I got a chuckle from Siegbert when I told them to stop trying to keep score…

Sookie cleared her throat and narrowed her eyes. "If y'all aren't going to include me on the joke then come up with a way to mention Hadley so I won't know about it."

Wybert almost smiled. "Tatzelwurm?"

I chuckled, "Lindworm?"

I was elbowed. "Nice try, gentlemen. We call venomous bitches dragons too… _Isn't there a female __Butzemann or something?_"

All three of us stopped in our tracks… just staring at her.

"What?"

"How do you know about der Butzemann?" _Not to mention how she was so well versed about antiquated dragon folklore._

"Who hasn't heard of the bogeyman?"

"Nearly everyone who hasn't spent any time in northern Europe. You didn't say _bogeyman_."

"I read a lot."

"So do I, but I didn't hear about der Butzemann until I lived in Germany."

"And when was that? Could it have been before Gutenberg?" _Only by a century or two._

The Berts started chuckling behind me.

"Fair point."

She rolled her eyes and started walking again while the Berts agreed that she was too smart for her age.

It was impossibly, deafeningly loud. The first thing to be seen as we walked in was a bank of slot machines. The electronic sound effects and hallow thud coming from the plungers being pulled by the overzealous group of 'Red Hat Society' women who surrounded the machines… _and their celebratory shrieking_ was excruciating at best.

The craps tables were just as grating… they were surrounded by bellowing drunks…

Keno numbers being called…

Din from the roulette enthusiasts… _Because shouting at the ball makes it stop where you want it to…_

A brawl between two gamblers at a Baccarat table…

The popping of cards being flipped…

The clatter of chips being slammed against each other…

Fingers drumming…

Hearts racing…

The layers of noises…

It was taxing to be there for me, but Sookie seemed to be holding up quite well.

One of Salome's security guards appeared shortly after we entered and lingered, following us as Sookie searched the room with a rack of chips in hand until Sookie decided on a blackjack table sitting near the middle of the casino floor.

The guard waited for us to sit before delivering her chips. "Miss Stackhouse, the Sheriff assigned me to be your local security for the evening. I'm Owen. Salome asked me to remind you that she encourages you to keep your winnings."

She laughed as she thanked him. "I did."

The young vampire raised an eyebrow and took a second to piss me off by appreciating his view of Sookie's chest. "If you say so, ma'am."

She curled her finger, encouraging him to lean in closer, and _improving his view_ as she point towards another table. "You have a card counter at that table."

"We don't discourage them until they become high rollers. The ones that get away with it brag to less talented comrades. They earn more for the casino through false advertising than they take home."

"So I'm told. He was in here earlier though. He's getting close to a 7 figure take. You might want to start _discouraging_ him."

"Yes ma'am. Thank you. If you need anything…"

She gave him a quick nod. "I'll let you know."

Once he settled back to watch the floor with a pit boss and the Berts took austere positions at closed tables nearby, I leaned over to ask. "What was that, about your winnings?"

She rested her face against mine and her lips brushed my ear as she answered, starting with a hum that killed nearly every other noise to my ears. "I played earlier too… I pretty much broke even. I left the table $500 ahead and gave it to the dealer as a tip."

_She would._ Beautiful. Just beautiful.

For the next half hour, Sookie repeated her method from earlier.

She'd win a few hands by sticking to the house rules of hitting below 17, but then make up for the win by hitting on 19 or splitting 4s and losing what she'd won.

I watched her, filling my idle time by trying to predict how she'd play a given hand until she became angry, furious even. She continued to keep her cheerful façade while her mood continued to fester for several minutes before giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

I leaned over to her, waiting. "I need you to do nothing."

"In response to what?"

"_Nothing_. Keep the Berts back too." Before I could ask for clarification, she signaled to the casino's guard and asked for the floorman, '_NOT_ _the pit boss'_ to be sent over.

Still, no opportunity to get an explanation before she left her seat, I watched her walk away with the floorman without a word.

Four tables away, she staggered… a 'twisted ankle' that I wouldn't have believed if I didn't know better momentarily put her in the lap of a player at a nearby poker table… The two of them were sprawled on the floor. His chips had been dashed into the air and while the Berts were held off with a subtle hand gesture, the casino guard had to be grabbed in his rush to aid her.

Feeling relatively useless without understanding what was happening, I had to trust her reasons… My bigger problem was that I was actually _afraid_ for her to get hurt.

I watched as the floorman helped Sookie off of the floor only so that she could plop her ass onto the lap of another gambler… she was putting on that she was drunk… she'd even accomplished looking flushed somehow… perhaps it was a side effect of how livid she still was.

Knowing that she managed to pickpocket after the bombing with sticky, blood covered hands, seeing her blatantly steal some of the player's chips was all the more puzzling.

He stood up quickly ejecting her from his lap and onto the floor, making all four of the vampires charged with her safety take another step towards her aid, but it was the floorman who offered his hand again.

The gambler shouted, "That bitch just swiped my chips! I thought I saw her grab some of his, but I know I saw her grab some of mine!"

She grinned at him. "_Nuh uh_."

Not wanting to cause a scene in front of hundreds of witnesses, the floorman invited them to somewhere more private to resolve the issue and took Sookie's purse from her.

Sookie leaned away from him to speak to the only vampire in the vicinity, the other player at the table… "You should join us."

"Why? Did you get some of my chips?"

"You'll see." When she stood again, she found me in the crowd and gave me a wink, and nodded her head so that I'd follow.

The service corridor used by the dealers' comings and goings to the cage was the 'somewhere more private'…

The floorman had absolutely no idea of how he should handle things, so the overfriendly casino guard relieved him of Sookie's purse and sent him back to the floor before the first word came out of his mouth…

Leaving Sookie standing in a dimly lit hallway with me, the Berts, the casino guard, the vampire gambler and the two human gamblers…

Sookie didn't seem the least bit fazed that she was in close quarters with 5 vampires and two men who were calling her a thief. I could've choked on the still wrathful nature of Sookie's mood.

The two humans weren't as numb to their circumstances. They were sweating before the floorman's exit. It didn't keep them from shouting accusations at Sookie though.

They only seemed to calm down when they noticed Sookie's quiet, but wry laughter and the improper guard asked her undoubtingly what they were 'dealing with'.

The rest of us couldn't help but stare while we waited for answers. She took her purse back from the casino guard and started searching through it. "Thanks, Owen… You guys caught me… My bad." She threw a handful of chips at them and then dug into her purse again… and pulled out stakes and silver nets. "Y'all want these back too?" The contents of her hand explained why she wanted the floorman's help with her little diversion rather than just sending Owen to dispose of them.

She shoved the weapons back into her purse and leaned back against me, careful to keep her hands in front of her. I put my hands on her shoulders, too proud of her, so that she could use me to focus if she needed to. "What are they up to, Sookie?"

She was quiet for a minute, maybe two before her mood settled, but stayed darker than I liked. "These two geniuses, Darrin and John are multi-taskers is seems. They turned a few hundred into a few grand…"

Salome announced her sudden arrival by stomping wildly down the hall until she broke into her naturally faster (and quieter) gate. "What's happened? I was told Sookie fell."

Sookie looked back at her with a smile. "I'm fine. I fell on purpose. I needed a way to get some silver nets away from these two."

"Have I missed why?"

"No ma'am. You have perfect timing… all you missed was that they multiplied their cash here. They started with $700 between them. Turned it into $4000 in blackjack."

"Fabulous. Continue, _please_."

"So their little plan was to make as much as they could off of you and against other vampires… So they could donate it to help their idol Steve Newlin's cause."

"Lovely."

"Oh, it gets better… they're actually working both sides of the 'charity'. It seems the church is quietly raising money for a bounty too. Newlin wants to 'send a vampire to the sun'… _**and televise it**_. They were going to clean him out… I'm sorry, sir, what's your name."

The vampire gambler nodded politely enough. "Mott. Franklin Mott."

"Nice to meet you…" She turned back to Salome, still presenting the same smile. "They came armed just in case they 'got lucky' enough to catch a vampire. They were going to hustle Mr. Mott here at the poker tables and then follow him. They were going to donate a vampire to the church… sweet that they're so devoted… It's a shame _their_ bibles didn't include that 'false prophet' bit."

Salome nodded with her arms folded. "A shame, indeed."

"So, Mr. Mott here was worth a quarter million dollars."

Mott growled. "That's all? I'm worth pocket change?"

"To the human grunts too dumb to resist? The ones with blue collar jobs and mouths to feed? Yes. Wealthy people don't get their hands dirty. $250,000 might as well be ten million to the working class. Only an idiot would offer more." He didn't look any less offended, but her insight shed a little light on how clever of an adversary Steve Newlin was.

Mott gaped. "Who are you?"

"Oh! I'm sorry. I'm Sookie Stackhouse. I belong to Sheriff Northman. I'm his, but I'm working for Salome this week." _Twice_. Mine.

He sneered in my direction. "Where can I find one?"

I was not amused. "_With me."_

Salome eyed the two shitbags. "So, what to do with _them_…"

Sookie's smile finally faltered. "Well, sheriff… that's none of my concern since they weren't stealing from me or planning to help murder me. I think now would be _**a great time**_ for me to take my dinner break."

Salome nodded deep enough that it could be considered a bow. "Thank you Miss Stackhouse. Enjoy your meal."

We were on our way into Shed when our attention was caught by a loud growl from behind us. Sookie and I whipped around expecting to find some form of trouble, only to see Wybert standing behind us with a fistful of plastic shards. "Hate phones." His bother gave him a sympathetic nod. Their parents must've been _so proud._

Sookie actually felt sorry for the ignoramus who crushed his cell unintentionally. "You want to use mine?"

"No."

"Is it important?"

"Update for Andre."

"_Oh!_ I gotcha covered. I was going to call him anyway so he'd know about the bounty. Is that why you were calling him?"

He nodded.

She opened her purse and held it out. "Then let me give that a proper burial with this other crap and I'll call Andre after I find y'all donors. K?"

"We fed last night." That was probably the most complicated sentence I'd ever heard him get right in English.

Sookie laughed as he dropped the iPhone splinters into her purse. _Who the fuck thought he could manage an iPhone?_ "Worried about love handles?"

"Handles?"

"Love handles…pudge, getting fat. It's a joke, because y'all don't gain weight."

Seigbert almost cracked a smile. Wybert just grunted 'joke'. Picturing either of them in a Neanderthal exhibit was no stretch of the imagination.

Sookie shook her head, frustrated, but staying patient. "It doesn't matter. Y'all need to feed when you can. No guarantee what tomorrow night will bring us."

Her first line of business was to get the 'hateful crap' out of her purse and wash any possible silver residue from her hands. By 9:45, Sookie had found a pair of plump brunettes for the brothers to disappear with and given Andre a far more humble briefing than she deserved. I was sure that Salome would illuminate the incident for him when she called. I didn't think for a second that she wouldn't be updating him nightly. Given the circumstances of politics and Sookie's gift, I would have been too.

She asked if I minded waiting for 'the favor' at the restaurant instead of in Shed… The donors were being obnoxious because they thought Sookie was rubbing their noses in the fact that she was a pet. Instead of being indignant for Sookie's sake, I laughed as we walked out… if they thought being a pet was a promotion from being a donor, they had a lot to learn. Donors are free to leave.

I slid into the booth in the back of the dark yet active restaurant after Sookie and let her get comfortable. "I have a question."

She smirked. "No hints. I can't."

"I waited a thousand years for you; I can wait 15 minutes to meet your favor." Fuck. Think. _THEN speak_. Asshole.

Her chin quivered and her eyes looked like they were starting to melt… I didn't, _**ME**_, I couldn't bear the idea of any of her possible reactions to my spontaneous and absurdly romanticized testimonial.

I killed the topic. "When Salome punished Mickey, your feelings confused me. I was hoping you'd explain." She'd tell Pam. I knew it. Sookie would confide in Pam that I'd said something so… so… so _impulsive_… I'd never hear the end of it. Ever.

She shifted her gaze from me to the table linens and cleared her throat. "Are we seriously going to pretend you didn't just say something so sweet?"

"Hopefully."

She blinked… repeatedly. Shifting focus back to me before clearing her throat again. "What… what confused you?"

"Well, to begin with, you didn't seem to mind being called a tart."

She shrugged. "I've been called everything from retard to the C word. Tart isn't really worth getting my hair up over."

"Who called you a cunt?"

"Usually just women who catch their husbands staring at my boobs. They don't always say it out loud though." She was still misty eyed, pretending I hadn't said 'it' as poorly as I was.

"You wanted to help him though. Even though he insulted you."

"I didn't know what was going on. I thought he was hurt for a split second. _What was that?_ Like _her thing_ or something vampires can all do."

"It's a 'maker's call'… It's part of the package. We can't ignore the call any more than we can defy a command."

"You can do that to Pam?"

"I could. I never have though. I've only ever used it when she was learning to feed… well, there was one occasion when she wasn't returning my voicemails, but I've never been that severe. Pam has only ever gotten a pull."

"Oh… Yeah, I probably would've tried to help him up if anyone else showed a reaction."

"It says a lot that Salome used it in your defense. She seems to be quite taken with you."

"Is that a good thing?"

I couldn't help but laugh a little. "It's fine. Salome is one who plays well with others. Me in particular. We've worked together more than a few times over the years."

"That's nice to hear."

"The most confusing thing about the situation was that you became anxious _after_ Salome apologized."

"We shouldn't talk about it here."

"And still more secrets?"

She sighed and reached for my hand and turned it palm up on her leg… she proceeded to spell out a message by using her finger to 'draw' letters. " T" _Fuck!_

"What was it?"

" T."

It was that she heard him at all… It could've been 'Mongo like candy' and it was just as much a danger to her as it would've been if he'd revealed a state secret.

It could've been that his particular thought at the time was less guarded than usual. It could be that my blood or simply practice was making her a stronger telepath… The only thing for sure was that she was terrified.

She still had her head resting on my shoulder when 'the favor' arrived.

Her jeans were a poor fit and her blouse was outdated. She was tall, slender bordering on emaciated, big brown eyes and wiry dirty blond hair, mid thirties if I had to guess… Her smile carried about as much cheer as you might expect from Rosh Hashanah in Auschwitz. Gloomy was an understatement.

Whether her abysmal smile was poorly faked or she was just that unshakably miserable, I still had no idea why Sookie would want to help her. I didn't get any clues from her appearance other than the fact that her weight and complexion might be indicative of over-donating. Ginger could be carried away on a stiff breeze if it weren't for her breast implants and she had more weight and color to her than the waif in front of me.

And the first thing out of her mouth was, "Geez Sookie, how the fuck can you stand to touch him?" I was more happy than ever to have not issued an empty promise.

Oddly, Sookie wasn't at all annoyed and pointed to the empty bench as an invitation. She pulled away from my side slowly, giving me a wink as she settled back into the corner of the booth. "You'll see… Eric, this is Michelle. Michelle, this is my guy." Guy?

"Nice to meet you… Seriously, Sookie?"

"It's not a problem for me."

"It's not?"

"Nope."

Michelle leaned back and gawked. Finally, "Great. _Just great_. Another one." She was really starting to try my patience.

Sookie giggled at her. "What makes you say that?"

Michelle tilted her head and gave Sookie an annoyed look without answering.

Sookie matched her stare for a moment before speaking again. "He promised to keep the secret."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"No. I just thought you'd want to see for yourself. You said you'd never met one."

"You're just fucking with me… you're doing it…"

"Michelle."

"Yeah?"

"Listen."

"To what?"

Sookie didn't answer her. She stared at Michelle. The look on her face was _knowing_ and her mood had become more mild than I'd ever known it to be. When I got no clues from Sookie, Michelle's face offered a quickly shifting range of emotions as her eyes darted around the restaurant.

"No."

Sookie flashed a smirk. "Yeah, sweetie."

"You…"

"Yes ma'am."

She stabbed her finger through the air to point at me. "He…"

"Yup."

"No." She looked like she might be about to pass out when the waitress came over to take her drink order and I was highly annoyed that I hadn't been clued in, but seemed to be the topic du jour. "Vodka rocks, double. Make it two."

When the waitress was gone, Michelle buried her hands in her face.

Sookie leaned into me, taking my hand again. "I told you that I'd only tell Eric. He promised to keep the secret… I swear, there are better ways to make a living than what you're doing." _Unfuckingbelievable_. That's when it all clicked. Another telepath. She wasn't abhorred to see Sookie hugging a vampire. She was surprised to see her making contact with anyone… _Unfuckingbelievable!_ Well, Herveaux was forgiven for not knowing about the dinner plans. I'd thought that he let Sookie slip away or linger in a bathroom unchecked for too long…

I gave Sookie's hand a squeeze, completely understanding (just as she said I would) what kind of guidance she'd been alluding to. I also understood what she'd been 'excited' about… She'd found someone like her, _finally_. "How did you find her?"

Sookie never took her eyes off of her new found friend. "We heard each other on the floor today. It was really weird at first because our thoughts were bouncing off of each other. Her poker table was next to where I was playing blackjack."

Michelle lurched as she shushed Sookie. "They'll hear you."

"I had a pit boss tell me today that the penny ante crap you do isn't worth tracking. Hush." Sookie turned to me with a slight cringe. "She was a janitor at a school for the deaf in the area until she was downsized. She's been supplementing her unemployment checks while she looks for another quiet job. Basically controlling her take like I was earlier and coming out just a little ahead. She took home less than I tipped my dealers."

"Would she consider a garishly loud job if the pay were astronomical?"

Sookie smiled sheepishly. "I'm sure that would probably depend on the favor I asked for."

"The guidance you wanted for her is pointing her in the direction of someone who wouldn't be another Compton?"

She nodded and gave a giggle. "And not you. You aren't allowed to be greedy. You have a telepath and a witch and a Skevington." The Tower of London's Lieutenant (and inventor of the Scavenger's Daughter) was a personal hero of Pam's… along with Coco Chanel. But, again, I was impressed with the obscure facts bouncing around in the head of the little girl who barely managed to graduate high school.

"I'm going to tell Pam you called her that. She might cry."

She giggled. "Can you think of anyone?"

"Sophie-Ann already has you. Salome wouldn't take her for granted, but Edgington would throw more money at her. If that's the case, this conversation didn't happen because I couldn't recommend that she leave the state even if Mississippi is an ally. That would mean moving though…"

Michelle interrupted me, shaking her head violently. "No. Nononono. I… I like _breathing_ people. If anyone found out…"

The perfect timing of a visit from a concierge ended her would-be rant about being in danger. The fat little daemon in an expensive suit smiled like he was having his picture taken. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to find out if the Sheriff and the Telepath need anything from me this evening." Michelle's eyes looked like dinner plates at the mention of Sookie's ability.

Sookie waited for me, but I shook my head. She held her hand out to shake his. "Sydney should've left you one of her Post-It notes. Call me Sookie, _please_."

"Of course ma'am. Phillip, at your service. Any specialties you might need?" He stepped out of the way for the waitress to deliver drinks.

"No. Alcide and I spent a long while with Sydney earlier. She'd had everything that came to mind taken care of by the time we were back from the pool. You guys are on point. I already mentioned it to your Sheriff too."

"Most kind of you, ma'am. If there's anything you need…"

She gave him a nod. "I'll let you know."

As soon as he was gone, Michelle might as well have dove into her drink.

I raised an eyebrow at Sookie. "Now I know why Alcide is calling you 'Princess'."

She cringed playfully and leaned over to whisper. "It's making me nuts. I'm not used to this mess." She would be getting used to it if I had any say on the matter.

Michelle practically dropped her empty glass and hissed her vodka across the table. "What the fuck do you do here? Just look for card counters?"

"I'm actually on loan. Eric is friends with the woman who owns the casino and I'm here looking for mess like the bombing that just happened in New Orleans."

"HA! No pressure there!"

"It's not constant. Until just before the bombing, I spent all of my time in bars listening for customers. Fake IDs, stolen credit cards, drunks looking for a fight… I'm not treated like the town joke anymore, I can have a 'normal' conversation with people and it pays the bills honestly. I'm good with the tradeoff of a little stress. No one gets to meditate through life."

"I kind of was until I got canned. Do you know what the mind of a profoundly deaf child is like?"

Sookie smiled at her. "_I do._ It's beautiful, but I could crawl into a vampire's mind and be happy there forever. It's that peaceful."

Michelle began staring at me again as though looking at me amplified my 'bubble'.

"It's your call. Do. Don't. I'm just letting you know, I used to get headaches. If I took two days off in a row, my first day back was miserable. The more I pushed it back, the more it got to me. As soon as I started using it, pushing myself, the headaches stopped. The tunnel vision, the dizzy spells, the confusion… it all stopped. _**And you know exactly what I'm talking about…**_ If you work for the right vampire, then you'll be kept safe. Something like this would have you looking for card counting, keeping an 'ear' open around the staff and stuff like that mostly."

"So you get bank for being a freak?"

"Yeah. Pretty much. But I'm not a freak among vampires, hon. I'm providing a service that's incredibly rare."

I couldn't help but interrupt. "Have you never met a vampire?"

"I guess you're my first face to face. It's not like we run in the same circles. Y'all don't do a lot of grocery shopping and I've only been able to keep work as housekeeping because no one sticks around to chat up the maid."

"Could your shields tolerate crowds while you adjust?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Some days are better than others. I'm doing alright at the moment."

"Do you mind if I ask if anyone in your family has a special ability?"

"You can ask, but I'm an orphan. Sookie's the first person to ever know I'm…" She seemed reluctant to say it.

"It's better that you don't say it because you're unsure if you want to use it. Being 'Out and Proud' comes from having the protection of a contract. If you want to consider 'working', negotiating your protection would be the first step."

"Protection from what?"

"Sookie's first 'face to face' was with a vampire who intended to enslave her to leverage a political position. There are those who would hurt you for their own gain."

"No surprise there. No offense, but y'all have a reputation."

"A reputation that doesn't do us justice. We are greedy and devious and capable of extreme measures that you can't begin to imagine, but we are capable of recognizing worth better than any other being. A prolonged existence full of lies makes one appreciate veracity all the more. That's what telepaths have to offer. The truth. Sookie has already saved the life of one vampire tonight because she could 'hear' the thoughts of the humans that would harm him. Your ability would be taken just as seriously as hers is."

Sookie added, "It's a whole lot more fulfilling to help people than it is to be a walking sobriety test… and I'm sure earning a paycheck would make you feel better than skimming a few hundred off of poker players. You have a conscience... I watched you fold with a full house against a guy with a mortgage and bluff a wealthy tourist out of a pair of aces. Right now, the Fellowship of the Sun is trying to find a vampire to crucify in the sun so that they can justify their BS that vampires are monsters… So yeah, even if I did still get the headaches and everything else, I'd still be doing this. I wouldn't go work for Enron just to help feed the rich. What we can do is offer security."

"There are ways to do that for humans though."

Sookie nodded in agreement and sat back to pick up her menu. "Yeah. I'm sure there are, but FYI, my brother almost went to jail for murder. People who know I can read minds, including the detective I'd known all my life still thought I was full of crap. So you go right on ahead, walk into a police station and tell the Captain that you can help interrogate suspects because you can read minds like Matt Parkman. See how far you get. This guy might have spent 30 seconds wondering if I was telling the truth about being a telepath, but he never called me a liar or a maniac when my own mother did."

The rest of the meeting went by silently, but I'm sure that it wasn't without conversation. While Sookie ate an obscenely large rare steak and salad and Michelle pawed at a salad to favor her preference for vodka, I sat in doubt…

Sookie needed, it wasn't just a safety measure, she needed a guard. She was practically in a gilded cage because of what she'd 'heard' as a paid telepath… both Sookies for that matter. Yet she was still completely certain that Michelle could benefit from following her footsteps and entering a society where killing and torture were usually the only way to resolve a conflict. She wasn't wrong about how important her contributions had been to some vampires, in fact, she was being far too modest again in my opinion. She'd officially saved dozens of vampires from final death, unofficially there wasn't any way to measure how many hypothetical human lives she'd saved by discovering the truth about who was responsible for the bombing.

She may get VIP treatment in Louisiana, but she was still in danger until Arkansas was finalized. The one thing that kept me from saying anything to contradict her was that instead of the usual shyness she felt when talking about her ability, for once, Sookie was feeling proud of it…

We left the restaurant with Michelle because Sookie had invited her to 'tag along' with her in the casino… A telepathic career day.

As soon as we entered the casino, Owen became our shadow again. He delivered Sookie's rack of chips as soon as she was settled at a Texas Hold'em table and sent a waitress to take drink orders… Sookie ordered a Red Bull, because she was starting to get 'tired'. She wasn't tired… _she was setting up her reason to leave as promised_.

Since I was sitting there, I decided to play rather than be completely idle… I got more than I bargained for…

Since Sookie was sitting at the end of the table and I was next to her, but around the side… whenever Sookie needed to concentrate she slid her foot along the inside of my thigh so that I could provide contact by simply touching her leg… but she definitely made sure that I was thanked properly. There were a few times that her foot lingered in my lap, tickling over my thighs or the one time that her tiny foot pushed me until my fangs ran out and I had to wonder if she'd say 'precum'… I was quickly starting to develop a foot fetish while sporadically helping Sookie 'work'.

Sookie rediscovered the two Were's from the crowd of protesters that greeted us the night before. It took all of 30 seconds for them to be swept away quietly. A few minutes went by before Salome stopped at the table to ask Sookie how to go about questioning them… She rubbed her temple, setting up her headache excuse again and suggested that Salome just 'sit on them' until tomorrow so that they get nervous enough to confess everything in one sitting. But we did have Owen watch over our chips while Sookie read the Weres' minds to find how they checked in every night… Their method of check in was to call a diner in Little Rock to order a 'tomato steak sandwich and a side of pea soup' and leave their last names. The 'pea soup' was to identify which Pack they were with… Pea Ridge. Cater was pulling out all of the stops… Hiring help from 350 miles away from the closest Louisiana pack. Too smart.

There were a few minutes after we left Salome that Sookie and Michelle sat in silent conversation, but eventually _**I got my fun**_…

The other players had migrated away from the table, leaving me with Sookie and Michelle as opponents…

Sookie's chips had dwindled… Not for lack of trying, she truly wasn't having a lot of luck, but when I was dealt pocket 9s with a 9 and a pair of Jacks on the table, things got interesting…

Michelle had already folded and Sookie couldn't match the raise I made…

She smiled sweetly and pulled her little notebook from her purse, scribbled a bit, then folded the paper until I wouldn't be able to see what she'd written and placed it on the pot. "That should cover it."

"An IOU? Why would I take an IOU?"

She smirked, licking her lips… and that was all I needed other than winning that piece of paper. There wasn't a _cash value_ to that IOU… I needed to see what was on it.

The way she leered at me during the Showdown made the situation that much more dramatic…

I arrogantly flipped my 9s over and watched for the slightest of clues… I'd had faster years than the seconds that passed while Sookie's raised eyebrow taunted me.

She flipped one card… A jack.

That was fine.

It wasn't possible for her to get a flush or a straight…

She only had a 4% chance of having one of the two cards that would beat my hand…

I watched her little fingers cautiously lift the corner of her second card closer than I'd ever watched anything…

She held the card up facing her for just a moment, before she flipped it into the air…

My jaw clenched as I watched her second jack spin through the air to land on the table in front of me. Four of a kind.

_**Four of a kind.**_

"Bitch!"

She giggled, standing just enough to claim her winnings, _**my losses**_ and start restacking them. "How do you know that a foot rub from Wybert isn't on that paper."

"Because you couldn't have taken $40,000 with a bluff like that without me feeling the lie."

"_Are you so sure about that?"_ I'd better be.

"I'm sure enough to keep playing."

Another hour…

A trip to the cage for more chips, waiting out a visit to the restroom (she took the damn paper with her), holding the game five separate times so that Sookie could enlighten Owen to one thing or another…

All the while, we traded chips back and forth… the dealer, Michelle and Owen found my agitation endlessly amusing… and that little piece of paper could have guaranteed my final death as soon as I read it and I still NEEDED to see it.

When I heard an all too familiar laugh behind me, I knew I was about to have more taunting to suffer… Pam. "That would explain what happened to nirvana… I just didn't think that _sweet Sookie_ was the shark."

"Do you need something Pam?"

"I wasn't going to bother myself with this clamor at all, but I thought I'd deliver Sookie's parcel to her as an excuse to see why you're so bothered."

I watched her drop a small box into Sookie's purse and then take a seat next to Michelle while Sookie thanked her.

Pam sat and watched me fold four pathetic fucking hands, she complimented Sookie's 'inspired idea' and 'fabulous taste' to needle me about the contents of the secret box she'd delivered. She flirted with the dealer until he blushed and then she set her sights on me. "Is there a testicle at stake?" Bitch.

Sookie giggled. "There could be for all he knows."

"What _exactly_ are we so determined about?"

Sookie raised her eyebrow and calmly slid that piece of paper over to Pam, never taking her eyes off of me.

She knew I'd watch… Pam held the object of my torment in her lap where it was out of my view and not only did she close her eyes when she saw what was written, but she bit her lip to keep from laughing so hard that _I felt the pain_. She slid the note back to Sookie, slowly stood and straightened her dress, walked over calmly to kiss my cheek… and whispered, "I love you too much to watch this."

Then she was gone… judging by the echo… she was in the lobby when she broke into her laugh.

"Did you tell Michelle?"

Sookie shook her head.

"Is it at least something I'd want?"

"Most likely."

"I'm going to win what's on that note."

"Are you going to keep me here until dawn? I'm getting sleepy."

"Yes, I will. And no, you're not."

She blew a kiss to me then bit her bottom lip… and motioned for the dealer to start another hand…

As entertained as Michelle was, she only lasted another half hour…

She announced that it was nearly 2am and declared that it was past her bedtime. As she left, she asked Sookie if she wanted to meet for lunch the next day and before I had the chance, Sookie warned her that her guard would be in company unless she waited for dinner so that I could join them… Michelle opted to wait for dinner and promised to think about what they'd talked about… as though they actually 'talked' about much of anything.

Several hands later and neither of us had much of a lead on the other…

I met her halfway when she leaned over to whisper, "Last hand. All or nothing. The only catch is that you have to wait until we get to the elevator to read it."

"If I lose, I still get to see it though?"

She nodded. "If you want to do that to yourself…"

I sat back and pushed my chips to the ante. _**"Deal."**_

A 3 and a 6… not suited.

I would have folded that fucking hand, but when the dealer flopped my second 3… I got my hopes up for three of a kind, two pair… anything…

By the time the dealer turned the River, I had a miserable lump in my throat. And Sookie was giving away nothing… the only thing I was getting of her emotions was amusement.

King, Queen, ten, nine and three…

I was looking at abso-fucking-lutely nothing. **For me anyway**.

I was sure Sookie had gotten lucky again. That she had the Jack she needed for the straight or the spade she needed for the flush…

It was her turn to show her cards first…

She made a spectacle of it… My angst had become the fuel for her entertainment… She held her hand up to the cards, and tried to use 'The Force' to show them. The first time her hand touched them was only a tease. She immediately raised her hands over her head for a long, exaggerated yawn. Opened mouth, arched back. So cruel… Then she lifted them both and childishly danced them back and forth over the table like action figures… her little sound effects meant that one of her cards shot the other… and the 'dead' one fell over… The two of hearts. She playfully cringed, sucking air through her teeth.

And she hovered her hand over her mystery card, wiggled her fingers… "You sure you don't want to renegotia…"

"Flip it."

She giggled. "You know I love you right?" She could've meant that, but she was just stalling.

"Just. Flip. The. Fucking. Card."

She threw her head back to laugh and quickly turned her last card… I blinked to make sure I wasn't imagining it. I really was looking at the two of diamonds.

Her hand was actually worse than mine. Her pair of twos only a bit more pathetic than my pair of threes… we both had the bottom of the barrel.

Knowing… just knowing that I'd won… I'd get what I was after…

I flipped the first card, showing my 6 of hearts as slowly as I could muster.

Sookie grinned. "So… it's like that, huh?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Maybe."

She giggled, "Just flip that jack and get it over with."

"What makes you think I have a jack?"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Whatever. You look too smug to have lost. So, what is it? Ace? Spade?"

"Did you mean what you said about renegotiating?"

"Eric, are you trying to make me beg?" She paused to lick her lips again and stroked her foot along the inside of my leg. "…because you know I will." And it would be too much after what she'd already put me through…

I didn't turn the card… I just slid it over to her. Her eyes only left mine long enough to glance at the corner of the card as she pulled it away from the table and began to smirk. "You got me with a pair of threes?"

"I'm as surprised as you are."

"Best two out of three?"

"Why would I risk that? It's past your bedtime anyway."

She calmly slid my prize to me. "I guess this is yours then…" She tossed a couple of chips to the dealer and asked Owen to see to the rest of them and make sure the house was repaid.

The elevator doors had closed behind us before I realized that the note was doing bizarre things to my mentality... It might as well have been vibrating in my pocket... whispering, _'read me, read me'_.

When my hand autonomously tried to retrieve it, Sookie stopped me. Her hand grabbed my wrist and she leaned into me. "Are you sure you don't want to negotiate a trade?"

"A trade? Are you starting to second guess what you offered?"

"No… But… I'm being nice. For all you know, it _**could**_ be a Saxon massage… I'm just giving you an out."

"What are you offering in exchange?"

"Make a suggestion."

"I could make several, but that doesn't seem fair. You know what's written on the note. I could over or underestimate its value. If you want to bait me away from my tightly folded surprise, you're going to need to offer something tangible."

She rolled her eyes up, playfully, her creative tell… but only briefly. She reached out, her tiny finger loitering over the 'emergency stop' button on the elevator's control and wiggled her eyebrows. _**Stellar negotiating skills**_…. She knew how tempted I'd be.

"Hmmmm… I think I'll keep my note, _Monty_."

She giggled. "Are you sure?"

I leaned over to her ear. "If I don't choose the note, it's gone forever." I'd eventually get the elevator fun too.

She backed away from me to lean against the opposite wall. "In a manner of speaking."

"You'd keep it to lord over me?"

"No."

"You're toying with me."

"No. You've been free to open that note for 12 floors."

I had to force myself to handle the note calmly… bracing myself for finding that it contained a practical joke instead of something more fun… hoping that I wouldn't overreact if that were the case… because it would spoil her fun… and again, catching myself caring, but I didn't think about it for long…

Her little note…

'_It's not the collar that keeps a pet with her master.  
It's the love and trust she has for him that allow the leash.  
This IOU is good for one command.  
Use it wisely. I might bite.  
–SS'_

All I could do was re-read it… over and over.

Pet. Mine. Master… All of those words had irritated her to some extent…

At least… they had until I explained that she wasn't 'just a pet'… Somehow, she'd come to terms with that truth…

The elevator doors slid open on our floor and startled Sookie. I hadn't noticed how attentively she was watching… but I did notice that she snarled at the doors and grumbled on her way out, "God you read slow for a vampire."

"Your handwriting is atrocious." Her signature, a torrid collection of curves that created a suggestive little double S… her handwriting wasn't nearly as 'bad' as my reaction to the sentiment though.

She giggled, grabbing a fistful of my shirt to start tugging me out of the elevator and slowly walked backwards along the hall. "I was scanning the crowd of gamblers, explaining things to Michelle, teasing you… I'll try to focus on penmanship next time."

It was hard to explain the way she was drawing me down the hall… magnetism. Not a metaphorical, quixotic ideal… _actual magnetism_. "So for the trivial price of $55,000 I received one command."

"Apparently." She reached out and began unbuttoning my shirt, continuing to slither down our quiet corridor.

"Do you have any preferences?"

"Ummmm… no."

"And you trust me to not use it for something that would embarrass you?"

I thought I was hallucinating at first, but when I realized that she really was sliding her panties off while walking backwards (and doing it gracefully), my fangs ran out. "_Welllll_… considering that most stuff still embarrasses me… I trust you not to have me do something I'd hate you for."

"I wouldn't do that… I might have you do something that you'll want to hate though."

She slowed down, letting me close the gap between us to get my arm around her. "You're just going to have to keep my tender sensibilities in mind."

With only a few feet left before the door to our room, I watched Sookie deposit her panties in her purse and remove her keycard. "I think part of the fun would be challenging those tender sensibilities… Pushing the boundaries of your reserved upbringing…"

"I expect no less from the likes of you." Once she unlocked the door, she grabbed my shirt and pulled me into our suite, still leading me to our room as if I were the pet. There was no denying it anymore, even to myself… there were times when I was completely her pet… her toy… her slave…

"Then we'll have to play tomorrow night too."

"Why would I do that? What's in it for me? _I don't want your money_."

"Then I'll have to borrow your notebook."

She smirked as she purred, "_That kind of currency_, I can handle."

As we passed through the living room, Sookie turned around, wrapping my arms around herself.

Pam was watching television with her feet on the coffee table and her laptop open to her blog. She was uploading pictures of her 'new' vintage treasures... She opened her mouth to say something, but before I had the chance to tell her to keep her mouth shut, Sookie took care of it. "If you say anything to piss him off, Alcide and I will spend the day gluing Christmas ornaments into your hair and we'll follow you around all night singing Oh Christmas Tree." I'd never thought of that one.

Pam cackled. "Not me. I'm still high from shopping. Did you give him his present yet?"

"No."

"You should. He'll love it. _Goodnight_."

As much as I wanted to move on to other things… the little box in Sookie's purse finally had my attention…

I closed the bedroom door behind us and then snatched Sookie's purse from her. When she realized that she wasn't going to win our game of 'keep away', she resorted to throwing her shoes at me, then the bed pillows, laughing the whole time… She finally changed tactics.

When she walked towards me, all I had to do was hold her purse over my head. I'd proven that the last time we'd played.

She waved her hand dismissively. "You can have it. We're wasting time fighting over something you're going to get anyway."

She pushed my shirt open and as she slowly nibbled down my chest, she started unbuckling my belt. I let her purse fall to the floor, half expecting her to run away with it, but she didn't seem to care.

I watched her work to undress me while her mouth gave the occasional nibble, just enough to leave me wanting without letting my mind get set in a certain direction… making me think that her human lovers probably amounted to nothing more than a stack of suicide letters… _who the fuck would want to keep going if she'd sent them on their way?_

With my clothes out of the way, she stood, sliding the little box into one of my hands and leading me to the bed by the other. She straddled my lap and nodded. "Go ahead. You're holding things up."

"Someone was distracting me."

She leered, wanting to hurry the gift along, but as I considered the little velvet box in my hand, I realized (finally) that there was something more to it. It smelled of magic… it felt impossibly heavy for such a tiny container… It might as well have had its own heartbeat. My confusion must have shown because Sookie giggled and told me to 'just open it'.

The little box creaked open to reveal a ring… not that the ring wasn't impressive, but it didn't explain the curious air to the box. The ring itself was beautiful. White gold with a red stone that looked more like blood than any gem I'd ever seen… I'd have bought it for myself if I'd come across it.

"Want me to start explaining?"

I nodded. "Please."

"Well, our company kind of inspired it… did she nag you about their rings? He definitely did."

"It's how she realized I wasn't her Eric. I mentioned hers and it brought her attention the fact that I wasn't wearing one."

"At first he thought I was mad at him and took it off. So… since the rings were kind of how they caught on to things, I thought if we ended up dealing with the same weirdness as them, then it…"

"Would help you identify _your Eric_?"

She giggled and poked my ribs. "_Yes_… but wait. There's more… did you notice that the stone isn't… like normal."

"Yes. What is it?"

"Well… there's a spell that some witches are strong enough for… as it turns out, you have one of those said witches. She needed magnesium and gold and blood for it, specifically my blood. Instead of a ruby or something, that has Dichroic glass because of the magnesium and gold in it… the drop of my blood in the setting and her hoodoo make that ring a Sookie locator… If we get flung into the weirdiverse, then you should be able to find me."

"I can already find you." I was still studying the ring.

"He couldn't. When they woke up that night, they didn't have their bond. That's what caused a bunch of the confusion." And the onset of my first ever case of blue balls.

"If the ring still works in that case."

She shrugged. "I didn't exactly go into details with Paulette… I kind of think we should though… but even if the spell doesn't carry over, then I can still spot you."

"Did you ask her if she can do the same for me?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I figured you would if you liked the idea. Do you?"

I nodded, breaking my gaze to finally slide the ring onto my finger… a perfect fit… and Sookie immediately felt heavier on my legs. "I really do… go… go out into the living room and get Pam…"

I didn't need to explain that I wanted to experiment, test the ring's accuracy… She giggled and bounced out of my lap.

It was insane how much stronger I could feel Sookie than my own child… without the ring on, I could tell that they were moving around the suite, once the ring was back in place it seemed like I could tell the two of them were dancing in circles around Pam's bathroom…

Without… near the door…

With… walking along the hotel corridor in opposite directions. Pam was moving towards the suite. Sookie was moving away except for when she stopped, took a few steps back and then continued on her way…

And even though I tried, I couldn't ignore the awareness… the connections I had with them, even Pam was something that I needed to consciously monitor, but the ring was impossible to ignore….

Sookie and Pam came to the door of the room, both of them wearing nearly identical curiosity. "Well?"

"I know dichroic glass isn't terribly posh, Pam, but I want one for you too. _This is astounding_… I can feel Sookie's location better than yours."

She elbowed Sookie. "I told you he'd like it… and I think I might start a movement… After going to the gallery, I might be bored with diamonds anyway. Dichroic has so much more personality. As a matter of fact, my blog is still open…" She shoved Sookie into the room and closed the door.

Sookie laughed her way to me, taking her place back on my legs. "A new toy?"

"It's not something I can play with exactly… but I love the idea of being able to find you so easily… now the bigger question would be, _are you sure you want me to be able to feel everywhere you are? _I could tell that you went into Pam's tub and out again twice._"_

She smiled with every bit of her face. "That's really cool."

"You don't mind?"

She closed in, distracting me with a long kiss and then staying so close our noses touched. "Why would I mind? It makes me feel safer knowing that you can find me."

"And stalk you."

"I'm practically up your butt as it is. How the hell are you going to stalk me from 3 feet away?"

"You might want to change that."

"You can already find me."

"You could still change your mind…"

She interrupted by nibbling my lip, moving her hips. "About bonding?"

I barely nodded as she reached between us. "yes."

She lifted herself, taking my cock and slowly lowering herself onto me… it was agonizing… she hadn't teased nearly as much as she could've or had in the past, but it still didn't change how perfect she felt around me. I unzipped her dress and pulled it off of her while she rocked, swayed, pushed… and as soon as her dress was over her head, she put her mouth to my neck and started with a whimper, "Why would I change my mind?"

As much as I wanted to give in to what she was pushing me to, I wasn't going to let her gloss over anything. I fought against myself to pull her face away from my neck and hated the cold she left behind. "Sookie, explain bonding. As you know it."

She made a frustrated grunt, but never stopped killing me with her hips… "It means that I'll be able to feel you like you've been able to feel me…"

Another pitch of her hips put a painful twinge into my fangs.

"…It means I'll be able to find you when I need you…"

She paused to bite her lip, tensing around me, making it more difficult for both of us to control ourselves.

"…It means that you'll be able to influence me more than you already can…"

Her breathing was starting to shake and the small part of me that wanted her to calm down didn't win.

"…Other vampires will know right away that I'm yours…" Mine.

"And it's permanent, Sookie. It's not something that either of us would ever be able to ignore if you change your mind. There's no going back."

She moaned, starting to look pained… "I know."

"You'll be mine. _Completely mine_."

She intentionally tightened herself around me, angry that I was insisting on conversation… she had no idea how close she was to making me give up my control.

"Sookie, just tell me that you understand that. Tell me you understand what 'mine' means."

Her jaw clenched, leaning forward to grab my neck, panting against my mouth. "I know what it means. Now, tell me what it's going to _change_."

I couldn't think of a single fucking thing. Even as she pulled herself to me, kissing, chewing my lip, doing obscene things with her tongue… I couldn't think of one thing that bonding to her would change other than opening the connection between us…

When she pulled away, breathless and waiting for the answer I hadn't been able to come up with. "Are you sure?"

She nodded, with wide eyes. "More sure than I have been in a long time."

Her eyes never left mine as I let go of her to put my wrist to my mouth, still grinding, writhing…

As soon as she wrapped her lips around my wrist, my whole body began to pulse, throb, ache… there was no point in fighting to stay in control.

The moment I bit her neck, the world fell away.


	13. Chapter 13

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 13**

**Weathered**

The pulsing insanity of Sookie's previous Red Bull binge was nothing. Either we were bonded or I was going to have to peel her from the fucking ceiling once the sun fully set.

I felt like my brain was going to vibrate out of my ears. It was ridiculous. There was no way she could've been working effectively.

What's worse… my foot was shaking impatiently. She'd had enough energy drinks to make _**me**_ fidget.

When I sat up to go to the shower, so that I'd be doing _something _with the insane energy I was feeling, I noticed a note on my nightstand next to where my phone was charging…

'_Patience and fortitude conquer all things…  
I guess Emerson never dealt with vampire pets.  
I'll be up as soon as possible.  
Love, Sookie.'_

I couldn't help but get a chuckle from her note, even if her mental disarray was rattling.

It took an effort on my part… I filled my unused time focusing on what had happened before I died and it wasn't coming easily. Bringing much more than a moment or two back to my thoughts was difficult. Each instant was clouded enough to make me wonder if it was memory or fantasy… but it was one hell of a fantasy… every random second I had to drag out of the depths of my psyche only made me want Sookie to hurry back to me so that we could revisit them… The odor in our room was heavy enough with cum and blood and her sweat to cause an ache… the glance it took back to our bed became a long consideration. My first thought when I saw the smears and pools of our blood was that I'd never seen so welcome a sight… comfortable, relaxed… home.

When I realized how much time I put into trying to recall our bonding and that I was still unfathomably attached to the sight of the macabre homage to Jackson Pollack that had become our sheets, I started to worry about what was keeping Sookie at bay.

Her mood wasn't as peppy as I expected given her energy, but I felt her getting closer.

It was far more intense than I'd been able to feel her before...

Before it was a sense of general distance… Once I'd put the ring on I could feel her location as easily as I could standing next to her with my eyes closed…

Not anymore. I could feel her so precisely that I could tell she was on the left side of the elevator… like I could reach out and stop the elevator to play with her 'sensibilities'.

I thought to try removing the ring and when I did, her location became more abstract, more like it had been before we bonded… What I still had with Pam…

Sookie was closer. She was moving up, but it wasn't as exact that I felt like I was with her…

Paulette had earned one hell of a bonus for that spell… and more if I found myself needing it.

She came into the room more calmly than I expected. Alcide was calling after her that he'd be back after his shower.

In spite of the electric mood, her smile was sedate. "Hey, how long have you been up? Are you pissed and turned on about something?" _We were definitely bonded._

"Just a few minutes… How much Red Bull have you had?"

She sat on the edge of the bed to face me and took a moment to stare at the 'mess' we'd made. "God only knows. I've been slamming them back since breakfast…"

"How have you been working?"

"Nonstop… Are you awake enough for an update? Do you spend any time being groggy or something?"

"I'm fine. Has something happened?"

"Well… I've been making a list all day. I don't really know where to start."

"The beginning."

"Well, Alcide came and got me at about 9 because the concierge called him about the madness downstairs. When we got there the lobby had 50 some-odd pets waiting for me. Thank God Sydney had our breakfasts taken to us in Shed." That would explain the need for energy drinks. I hadn't noticed until then that she had dark circles under her eyes…

I pushed her hair away from her neck to make sure her bite marks had healed, feeling like an asshole for resenting her energy. "So you didn't get much sleep."

"Eric, I didn't get any sleep. You had just died… I was still catching my breath when Alcide knocked on the door."

"9am? I didn't die until 9 am?"

"I checked… Sunrise was technically before 7. Ever done that before?"

"No. But I was told that it would happen. I just wasn't expecting 2 extra hours. How much do you remember?"

She let out a loud breath like she'd been holding it. "Oh, thank God! I felt so bad that I couldn't remember much."

"I barely remember anything." Considering that we'd 'lost' 6 fucking hours, my memories accounted for barely any of it… 15 minutes at best.

"It came to me slowly. I still don't remember everything. It kind of pisses me off."

I took her hand and pulled her to my lap. "Why is that?"

"Because I remember this feeling… like everything, but nothing at the same time… and I had no idea that 6 hours was gone, that you'd died… when Alcide knocked on the door, I thought it was Pam coming to make fun of us."

"Not much of anything has come to me yet, unless you consider that I'm looking forward to next time. Our visitors mentioned that they had the same problem. They planned to record it."

She giggled, her cheeks already blushing. "Oh, I don't think so…."

"_We'll see_… maybe I'll use my IOU for that."

"I'll bite your nose off."

I laughed at her '_delicate sensibilities'_. "Was that all we needed to talk about? Our time-lapse fucking binge?"

"I wish… Um… once the first wave of pets was taken care of, I came upstairs to get changed and your phone rang… it turns out it had been ringing for hours. Fangtasia… The fire inspectors and insurance adjustors… detectives… Flood called Alcide. He's freaking out because he's worried that you'll blame his Weres for not catching it."

"I'll call him. I need to tell him that Pea Ridge has been moving through my Area anyway. That won't make him a happy dog…"

"Are they territorial?" She asked as though it would be cliché.

"Very. He won't care if they just drive through, like I don't care if a vampire does… but knowing that Jennifer and Peter have Pea Ridge Weres staying here in Baton Rouge, I wouldn't be surprised if they've got some of the Jonesboro Pack squatting in his territory and lying to him about why. I'm sure that Flood has already called the Packmaster of the Red Stick Pack to let him know that Herveaux is working here as a courtesy."

"I could mention it to Alcide."

"It's better to keep him out of it. Why will he be back after his shower?"

"Because he was helping me today. Turns out he can type faster than I can write. So I took notes and then he typed up replies and sent them out to save time."

"How many did you read today?"

She shrugged. "215… give or take."

"Sookie… that's too much. How the fuck are you going to…"

"Fit it all into the safe? _I know, right?_"

"You know that isn't what I'm worried about."

"I know. I'm holding up. I'd rather not think about it… the good news is that out of all those pets, only 14 vampires are coming in tonight… the rest of them got emails."

"Only 14 were guilty of something unpleasant?"

"No. Only 14 were guilty of something I felt weird telling their master about in a text… One of them… one of them is more than likely getting handed over to Andre. He had the balls to send a pet to get read when he's been spending a lot of time in Little Rock."

"Brilliant."

"That's what I said."

"So what's on your agenda tonight?"

"I wasn't done." Fuck.

"What else?"

Her lip pulled up. "While Sydney was setting us up in Shed, she mentioned that a friend of mine checked in just before dawn and asked which room I was in."

"Were you expecting any friends?"

"This supposed friend is a vampire. She checked into a double room under the name Caroline Holiday."

"The name isn't familiar…"

"It is to me… she's buried next door to my house."

"A relative?"

"Bill's wife. Caroline Holiday Compton."

"Someone checked into the hotel using Bill's wife's name as an alias and asked for your room number."

She nodded, seeming to already know what that meant. "Petite brunette in flashy clothes. She pouted when Sydney wouldn't put her on the same floor as us… It's Bill's maker, isn't it."

I nodded. "That would be a very safe bet. Lorena. She's deranged enough to not care that you're mine. She's come here to cause trouble… Not that you make a habit out of it, but you don't leave my side tonight until I've taken care of her. If you need to use the restroom, we'll come upstairs."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to kill her. Maybe not tonight because I don't want to give Salome more to deal with, but eventually I'm going to end that cunt."

She took a hard swallow, making me think twice about not trying to sugarcoat. "Why?"

"It isn't enough that she seems to have some sort of ax to grind with you?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you don't know that she can't be reasoned with."

"I'm sure that she blames you for Bill being ended. Even if she were usually even-tempered when a maker loses a child, there is very little diplomacy that will help."

"I don't want her… _to die_ because of me."

"If she didn't choose to be here, then she wouldn't be in danger."

She gave me a hard stare. "Don't start lying to me _now_."

"Let me rephrase. If she didn't seem to be determined to confront you about something that is her own doing, then we wouldn't be talking about ending her, just punishing her."

"How would you go about punishing her?"

"Humiliation."

"Always?"

"No. Just for her."

"Eric, I…" There wasn't any point to arguing about Lorena's fate. Sookie wasn't going to be able to talk me out of anything and I doubted I'd be able to make her understand why.

"Was there anything else that I need to brace myself for?"

She huffed, angry and frustrated but doing her best to not let it show. "Jason called to say that Sam stormed out of Merlotte's a few minutes after Lafayette asked how I was. So I'm half expecting him to show up… And Franklin Mott sent me flowers."

"Your shifter is going to get hurt."

"What are you going to do to _him_?" Beat the shit out of him for his less than perfect timing… Lorena was enough grudge to be had for the time.

"Nothing more than he provokes. I can't excuse a challenge in public and if he stormed out of his own business, I doubt he's going to be rational if he comes here."

"So like what you did with Jason? Get his attention so he'll shut his pie hole?"

"I might have to silence him until you have the chance to talk to him privately, but yes. I know you care about him."

"Why not do that with Lorena then?"

"Because a vengeful vampire isn't something you leave as a loose end, Sookie. Your shifter may be annoyingly obtuse, but I doubt that he's a threat to you… You mentioned flowers. Why would you bring that up?"

"Because Franklin Mott had an arrangement of yellow and dark pink roses sent to me with broken teeth mixed into the marbles in the vase. The card said 'Thank you for the divine dinner, Miss Stackhouse. I'm looking forward to returning the favor. ."

I couldn't help myself. I laughed, if for no better reason but the disgusted look on her face.

She slapped my shoulder. "It's creepy!"

"You're spoiled, Sookie. Not all vampires pay attention to human etiquette. As 'creepy' as you think it is, Mott sent you a very heartfelt thank you."

"That's it. I quit…" She tried to leave my lap, but when I held onto her, she barely resisted. "…I don't want a damn collection of teeth!"

"Did you pay attention to his age? I'm going to guess that he's about 400 years old."

"I guess… just a little older than Pam. Why?"

"Because when he was alive it would have been acceptable for him to do that. In fact… You should consider yourself lucky to have received flowers and teeth instead of a dairy cow and hands."

Her mouth opened, but nothing came out while she stared.

"You'll get used to it. You might not ever be able to stomach it all, but there are a lot of vampires who cling to older customs. I'm not an exception."

"Hence you going straight to killing Lorena instead of reasoning with her."

"You're not going to let it go are you?"

"No."

"Then I'll try a different approach, but I think we're going to have to agree to disagree on the subject."

She huffed, folding her arms. "Fine."

"Say you're driving late at night and you run over a child playing in the road without any supervision. You kill him."

She gasped. The idea alone brought tears to her eyes. "I'd die! I couldn't live with myself."

"Of course you'd feel guilty… but then, the mother of the child who was left unattended began stalking you and planning her revenge."

"I didn't do it on purpose."

"No doubt, but in her grief she isn't thinking clearly enough to accept her own responsibility for not attending to her child's needs. Now, when she arrives at your door, armed and prepared to kill you, are you going to let her?"

She narrowed her eyes… slapped my cheek… and stood from my lap. "Go get your shower." I win.

"Tell me you see the logic, Sookie."

She walked over to the closet to start angrily shoving hangers along the rod. "Shut up."

"Sookie."

"_I see the damn logic, you big jerk_. Promise me one thing?" It was hard to not laugh at her little fit.

"What?"

"Wait to get your way long enough to figure out how she knew I was here."

"It couldn't be rumors? You've been public for 4 days."

"Bill got a lot of calls from a 206 area code. If that's her, she was in Seattle. I doubt the rumors spread that fast. Bill was ended 6 nights ago… it would've taken her a couple nights to get to Shreveport and turn up nothing before heading to New Orleans… She _could've_ been around to find out that I was doing the clinic… _but_…"

"You're right. It's more likely that she was told of your whereabouts."

She turned from the closet just enough to flash a smirk in my direction.

"Did Bill ever speak of friends in Arkansas?"

"No, but he wouldn't… There was a lot he didn't bother mentioning."

"Good point. Is that all we needed to talk about? Fucking past dawn, wearing yourself out, Fangtasia went boom, Bill's psychotic maker, your 'creepy' thank you gift and your potentially problematic Shifter."

She laughed, "Isn't that enough?"

I surprised her, sneaking up from behind while her attention was still on the rack of clothes. She squeaked, but still hugged my arms when they went around her waist. "There's the matter of a broken promise we should discuss."

"Mmmmm hmmmm… and what would that be?"

"You promised to bring me another 'treat', but you smell like Herveaux and the casino."

She giggled, "You're kind of a brat."

"I don't like being lied to."

She tried to move away and when I held her still, she told me to move with her… Sookie led me to the bathroom and pointed to the counter. "I wouldn't lie… but life got in the way… I did think of you though."

There was a dark blue dress shirt neatly folded on the counter. "You think you can make up for your scent with a shirt. Sorry, Sookie…"

She tilted her head back to interrupt me with a kiss. "I wore it while I was in the sun. It smells like me."

"You…" It's all I could manage… nothing else was forming coherent sentences… She'd had no sleep and delved into the minds of hundreds, _too many_ humans… had warnings about her temperamental shifter and a vengeful vampire… all while her head felt like a teeming anthill… but she thought of me.

"I knew by 3ish that even if I got a break, it wouldn't be long enough. I ran into the boutique and bought that and wore it while I listened to pets by the pool. Hopefully it's enough to tide you over."

"That was very thoughtful. Thank you. I was just _picking on you_ though… I understand that you were busy."

"I still didn't want you to wake up to nothing… Alcide made fun of me for using an Italian silk shirt as a bathing suit cover. He called me Princess again."

I was grateful for the diversion. I kissed her neck and let her loose so that I could go to the shower before I made other plans for us. "Are you getting used to it yet?"

She slid onto the counter as I stepped into the tub. "Nope. Not going to either. 215 minds trying to figure out what their master could want from 'trash' like me is gonna _keep. me. humble_."

"They were assuming you're competition?"

"Competition, business, lusting after Alcide, picturing me naked… a couple of them thought I was part of some vampire mafia… I can't really blame _them_ though. I mean, I was dealing with a steady stream of humans… All of them brought cash and an envelope and I asked them what they thought about their masters while I pretended to read the disclosures… Did I tell you that I'm not 'allowed' to tan tomorrow. Alcide is starting to get a sunburn."

I laughed, "He needs to find somewhere shaded to sit."

"That's what I told him. He bitched that there isn't a shady spot close enough to a sunny place. The best I'm going to get is an hour or so in the afternoon."

"You'll have to settle for that then, _Princess_."

She blew a raspberry and stomped out of the bathroom…

She didn't stop talking to me though.

While I showered, _begrudgingly alone_, we covered topics that we'd ignored the night before…

Seigbert's thought that invaded Sookie's mind when Salome apologized for Mickey's behavior wasn't in English other than Hadley's name… when I offered a few options, it seemed like he'd only compared the two childish vampires. Sookie was still unhappy to have heard the thought at all… understandably so… but she tried to make peace with the incident since including my thoughts she could still count on her hands how many times she'd heard vampires…

It was going to remain 'our little secret'.

The reason Michelle referred to me as 'another one' was because Sookie was the first telepath she'd ever met and when she tried to hear my thoughts, she was met with the same 'nothingness' as when Sookie was using her shields… _another curiosity about her gift._ And as it turned out, the reason for so much of their 'silent conversation' was because Michelle was awed by how Sookie partitioned her mind, which she didn't realize she was doing. She was concentrating on one area of the casino at a time and Michelle described the area she was focusing on as being under a spotlight in an otherwise empty and dark room… Sookie was at a loss as to how to explain the 'red masses' since Michelle wasn't party to knowledge of Weres yet… Michelle had also been very interested about the 'amazing' difference between Sookie's mind and Sookie's mind with my 'help'…

Sookie joked that she wasn't willing to share me, but offered to help her experiment.

Knowing that Sookie had read hundreds of minds, thousands when I considered the last time she rested, I wasn't sure 'playing' with Michelle would be a good idea, but suggesting that Sookie postpone her 'date' wasn't an option… she'd been so completely alone in her gift that I wasn't going to deprive her of her excitement. I couldn't imagine life as anything and not meeting another for 25 years. Understanding that her young cousin was most likely a telepath and eventually going to be in her care in some capacity was good enough reason to let her coach Michelle to harness her ability. The practice would be helpful.

Over the course of the long day she'd had, she tried using Alcide's mind as she uses mine and found that every thought he had became crystal clear other than the 'reddish filter', but he was no help when it came to anything else. Selfishly, I couldn't be disappointed… I liked that she depended on me for something… even if it was a byproduct of something else I enjoyed. _Touching her._

By the time I was done dressing, and saving my shirt for last, she was standing at the mirror applying her makeup in a flirty little strapless cocktail dress, reminding me of the warning I'd gotten about how she looked in light blue… She let a sad little laugh escape when she noticed what the way she was bent over the dresser was doing to me.

Her dress and my new shirt made for an interesting combination of stimuli. My shirt was no less intoxicating than Sookie was. I was torn between wearing it, her scent and saving the pleasure of it to savor later… being the prideful bastard that I am, I decided to wear it… and invite her to pre-wear all of my shirts… she was laughing gently by the time I ended my list of requests by asking her to roll around on all of my bed linens, but she told me to pick a shirt for her to wear tomorrow just in case…

How pleased she was that her gesture made me 'happy' made me feel as close to _touched_ as I'd ever been.

Paulette was waiting in the living room when we emerged from our room, as ready as possible for the intense evening ahead…

Her girlish grin was a digression from the remarkable powers she'd come to demonstrate. "I heard that you were very impressed with Sookie's idea."

"My only disappointment was that she hadn't already aligned plans for reciprocal spells."

She giggled. "Pam took care of that. She woke me up to plan some errands for me before she went to bed. All I need is a drop of you and her… She said that you'd want to pick Sookie's yourself."

"She was right, but don't tell her that. What did she select?"

When she opened one of the boxes to reveal a large pink bauble, I worried for a moment that Pam would expect me to wear it. Even jokingly, she'd have to dodge it. It would be a projectile before I'd wear anything that gaudy or epicene… but when the second box contained a much smaller square of black and gold, Pam was unknowingly granted a pardon from the firing squad.

I watched Paulette combine herbs with my drop of blood with her jade mortar and pestle while I spoke to Fritz at the glass art studio they'd found. His pathetic grasp of French made asking for what I had in mind for Sookie easier as far as secrets were concerned... 'Papillion bleu' eluded her...

As soon as I set my phone down, she poked my ribs from behind me and laid her head on my back. "That's not fair."

"I won't be able to do it for long. I plan to teach you several languages."

She giggled. "Good luck with that. I barely passed high school English."

"You didn't have a private tutor. If you can retain random facts about antiquated dragon lore and quote Emerson from memory, you'll have no difficulty with two or three more languages."

"If you say so, boss… Start with pretty languages though. Not French. It's too phlegmy."

I couldn't help but laugh. "What do you consider 'pretty' then?"

"I don't know Scandinavian, Cyrillic, the other Romance languages... French is just pretentious... and..."

"Princessy?"

She poked my ribs again. "Embrasse mon cul." Cajun slang learned from her little backwater would explain her revulsion of the French language.

"Is that an invitation?"

She giggled, but it turned into a yawn. "Always."

I turned to put my arm around her and it took her eyes too long to focus on me. "You won't be working late tonight."

She shook her head slightly. Thanks to her energy drinks, her mind was perfectly alert, but her body was showing its wear… it was almost like she was being pulled to rest. "No… the vampires that are coming in about their pets were told 'until midnight'. Right now I'm hoping I make it that long."

"And you'll rest tomorrow."

"I'll be fine with some sleep."

"You'll be better with a late day… If you push yourself past the constraints of the contracts you have with Salome and Sophie-Ann, then others might take it as provocation to ignore that part of your contract too."

She mumbled against my shoulder, 'good loophole,' but she pushed herself away so that she didn't fall asleep on her feet. She needed to 'keep moving'.

When Pam made her entrance, she stopped in her doorway and evaluated the room… I knew what was coming. She started laughing in her throat, pointing between Sookie and me. "It's about fucking time."

Sookie rolled her eyes and disappeared into our room with fresh sheets since the maids weren't invited past Paulette's wards…

Pam made her way to Paulette and me to observe… Paulette was just remounting Pam's cabochon to the pendant she'd chosen… but for once, her attention didn't stay on jewelry for long…

"You arrogant mother fucker."

"What?" I laughed, knowing exactly 'what'.

Pam smashed her face into my shirt and breathed in a deep measure of Sookie's sunny fragrance. "That's not fair when you consider that I saw her first."

I pushed her away. "I thought you had better manners than to go around sniffing people."

"I hate you."

"Oh, there's a news bulletin."

"You're wearing sunlight as cologne. I'm allowed to be bitter. How did she do it?"

"She wore it at the pool while she worked."

"I'm going to have to have her pre-wear my clothes."

"Sorry. I've already arranged to have her wear mine."

She elbowed me. "Asshole. You don't get dibs just because you're bonded to her."

"I'm pretty sure that's exactly what it means… I have a chore for you tonight."

"Great. I'd love to do a favor for you after you all but told me to go fuck myself. Pray tell." I might have been pissed about her attitude if I wouldn't be just as bitter in her shoes.

It only pissed her off more when I smiled at her. "Dinner at 10 to meet a friend of Sookie's."

"I already met that laughing bitch, Lafayette. Why do I need to watch them eat?"

Paulette could've been trusted with the information that Michelle was a telepath, but Pam had the chance to know something I hadn't the night before. "You'll see."

"This better be good. You know how I hate chewing."

At exactly 8:00 the elevator doors slid open to reveal a full staff to Salome, Mickey and Owen. With both Berts, Herveaux and Pam with us, Sookie and I were sporting a full entourage… And somehow between floors 20 and 1, Sookie managed to shed every visible sign of her fatigue.

Salome shook her head. "Aren't you rula. How are you still going, Sookie? My staff told me that you've been working since 9."

Sookie smiled at her. "Rula?"

Salome nodded. "Strong, determined… unstoppable."

Sookie raised an eyebrow. "I like that. Maybe my brother could be convinced to call me that instead of a willful horse's ass."

Salome laughed at her. "I doubt that. I had a few brothers of my own. Mine called me 'Tsumi'… The only daughter got a lot of attention… Men."

Sookie giggled. "A friend of mine has a t-shirt that says, 'Not all men are assholes. Some of them are dead'…" I felt a subtle nudge to Sookie's shoulder that made her laugh. "…Present company excluded, of course Alcide."

Mickey decided to open his perfectly punchable mouth. "Seriously? We're sparing the wolf's feelings? _Aren't we just precious?"_

Pam offered, "and of course some assholes are just assholes… no matter how long they've been dead." Even Mickey's maker was amused enough to laugh. When he moved to challenge the wrong bitch, all she had to say was 'bring it, squirt'.

Salome barked his name and told him to stand down and looked to Owen. "Remind me to find a babysitter when the adults discuss business tomorrow night."

"Yes ma'am."

I took my opportunity before Sookie started recounting her day. "Salome, Sookie's determination has become a problem. She doesn't seem to grasp her limits. If you could make your staff aware that she's sequestered until 2 o'clock. Room service instead of the restaurant. No calls, deliveries or visitors either."

"Is she unwell?" She seemed genuinely concerned.

"Not yet. At the moment she's simply spread herself too thin. She's only functioning at the grace of countless energy drinks."

When Herveaux coughed 'eleven', Sookie kicked his shin without looking back and called him a 'narc'. She recovered quickly, but I could feel her bratty streak threatening to bubble over. "I'm sure Eric's right. If I don't rest, I won't be good for much. I'll bounce back though. It's just been a crazy week."

While I distracted myself from what my shirt was doing to my mood by fingering the new ring, Sookie's diffident delivery of how reading pets progressed was interrupted near the end by the sight of a Were practically running towards our gathering in the lobby.

He might have respectfully called her 'Miss Stackhouse', but the panic in his voice was clear… While most of us recognized him, Herveaux didn't waste any time. He saw someone rushing towards Sookie. He had his hand around Hadley's little Were friend's throat with his elbow locked and Jake's feet barely touching the floor.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going, sweetheart?" I was impressed enough with Herveaux's style that Sookie had to give my hand a squeeze so that I'd have the boy released.

"Herveaux."

"Is this the putz?"

"Not 'the' putz. Just one of them. Sookie seems to be starting a collection. This is Jake Purifoy. He's a friend of Sookie's cousin."

He nodded, loosening his grip enough to let Jake breathe and leading him over. Purifoy squirmed, pulling at Herveaux's hand without budging him. He choked, "I'm not going to hurt her. I swear."

"Oh! Thank God_. If you swear_… Because no one who'd want to hurt her would go to the lengths of _swearing_…" He gave another squeeze to go with his sarcasm.

Jake barley managed to croak. "Fine… Ask the Berts then… I'm clear to be around the queen." _Just not a 'princess'._

Sookie giggled quietly and cut her eyes at me. She'd heard me again…

"Alcide, let him go enough to talk to me. You're choking him and he wouldn't have come here if it wasn't important. I scare him."

He looked to me so I gave him a nod… He released Jake, but didn't move. It left the boy to stand on his toes to talk around my new favorite Were. Typically the saying would equate to 'smartest retard' or 'skinniest pig', but _**that**_ Were was growing on me.

Jake had to clear his throat a few times. "Miss Stackhouse… Quinn's going to have my ass for ditching work… but Andre came to me this morning just before sunrise… Hadley's missing."

"Sophie-Ann doesn't know where she is?"

He huffed and eyed everyone carefully. "They don't know why… she says she can block it. If she doesn't want to be found, they can't find her." I wouldn't believe it if Sookie hadn't proven that 'a void' was entirely possible for her… but it was galling to think that Hadley was foul-tempered enough to know she could evade her maker.

"So why come here? You were there the last time I talked to her. She wouldn't run away from home to come see me. _Jason maybe_, but…"

"She ran away from being punished for how she acted with you… She was on lockdown. She wasn't supposed to leave her apartment… I went to talk to Amelia… She said that Hadley left in a Jag with 'a friend'. The friend was a snotty bitch to Amelia and mentioned a 'family reunion'… I tried to get in touch with Andre, but he didn't answer my calls." Both Berts growled behind us. They'd been informed about Lorena's presence. Even Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber managed to connect those dots.

"You think she came here to stir up crap to get back at me for her punishment."

He nodded, still trying to massage Herveaux's handprint from his neck. "She's my friend and all, but doing something to you won't prolong her life." _Fan-fucking-tastic._

I pulled my phone out, knowing that Andre would answer a call from my number. "Sookie? Do you think it's any coincidence that there's another guest here looking for you?"

Sookie snarled at me, but stayed quiet for a moment. "Hadley's on the 12th floor and she has company. It's hard to tell from this distance, but the vampire with her is definitely older than Bill… Are you going to be cocky about it?"

"Yes… How can you tell it's Hadley from so far away?"

"Her brain is different. Her void is the smallest and darkest yet… And she's the only brain that I've ever heard that disturbing freakin' whisper from."

Andre answered on the first ring.

"Northman, do you have a problem?"

"I do. And I believe your something lost is my something found."

"She's there? Did she say why?"

"I haven't confronted her yet. Her Were friend just arrived to warn us because you didn't answer his call…"

"I only answer one call." Prick. He was ruining my shirt induced mood.

Ignoring his pompous drivel, "He discovered that she left with 'a friend' who planned a 'family reunion'. It just so happens that someone also checked into the hotel under Compton's human wife's name just before dawn. Has she contacted you?"

"_Mrs. Compton_ was informed of her child's circumstances last night. She received the litany of information concerning the situation. She shouldn't be a problem."

"Nevertheless, she's here and asked for a room on Sookie's floor."

"Did she get what she asked for?"

"Sookie found them on the 12th floor… _she hasn't begun to get what she's asking for_."

"Enjoy your visit. Please, tell Hadley to wait for her ride home. I'll be there shortly."

"Understood. Thank you…" I slid my phone back into my pocket, pleased to have 'permission' to have fun. "…Pam, Alcide and Owen, take Sookie to Shed so that she can meet the vampires she needs to there. The Berts and I will manage the other affair."

When I tried to let go of Sookie's hand, she held on. I expected some resistance, some argument, but the thing that didn't fit was the way she was looking at me… Her eyes were misted over, but she wasn't disappointed or angry… she was anxious. "Eric…"

"Sookie, we talked about this."

She shook her head, giving another squeeze to my hand. "You said she's a lunatic… _Eric, be careful_."


	14. Chapter 14

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 14**

**Intentions**

It only took a moment for us to make our plan… the rest of the elevator ride was spent looking forward to the chance to get our hands on the major nuisances of our 'lives'.

Salome had eagerly offered their room number like virgins to a pyre, along with the infuriating news that Mrs. Caroline Holiday had reserved her room for 4 nights… Killing Sookie would only take 1. Including their night to plan… turning her would take four.

Even if we didn't know which room was theirs, Hadley made their location known as soon as we were clear of the elevator. The petulant little bitch was whining in full voice to Lorena about wanting to go downstairs to feed...

Lorena's tone was pandering as a minimum when she told her infantile company to have some patience...

All of my plans for Lorena were tossed aside when she told Hadley that she wanted to see what all of the fuss was about. "...See what's so special about the cow that _**my Bill**_ had to die for..." _She was looking forward to inspecting his substitute_.

I hadn't seen her for more than a century... And she was still completely enamored with her pathetic excuse of a child...

I motioned to have the Berts follow me to the stairwell so that I could change the plans...

My original plan was to storm into the room and take the twat's head from her shoulders... Barehanded… _for the fun of it_… and let Hadley sit in vampire debris and the fear of Andre's imminent arrival.

The new plan wasn't going to make Sookie happy, but she'd probably be less angry than with the original.

Sadly, since both of them were vampires, neither of them pissed down their legs when they jumped to their feet… But the looks on their faces when the splinters of door and framework flew at them after I kicked it in was enough.

Hadley, being the pathetic waste of plasma that she is, tried to run away… My satisfied smile when Hadley screamed in the hallway was reflexive… _primal._

_Poor Hadley_ ran into her 'brothers' (probably literally) just outside the door while Lorena leapt for a stake she'd left on her nightstand.

I watched her.

In the light tight room, there was only one exit and it just so happened to be blocked by the mother fucker she should've been considering when she made her plans to come after my Sookie.

She held onto her stake, shaking in spite of her attempt to hide how frightened she was while I rolled up the sleeves of my shirt so that her filth wouldn't taint it. "Long time, no see, Lorena. What have you been doing with yourself?"

She hissed in a miserable attempt to intimidate me. "Most recently I've been mourning the loss of my child."

"Why mourn a cock drip like Bill? Just replace him with some marginally sane vagabond. At least they have some manner of survival instinct."

"I doubt you'd be so flippant if you lost your precious ingénue."

I laughed at her. "_Ohhh_, my Pam is hardly an ingénue… I'd call her a protégée if she weren't so proficient… She hasn't needed me for a while now. I don't need to be reminded of how lucky I am that she prefers to stay with me."

"I hear that your luck extends to taking fat little whores from other vampire's beds too." _Trying to bait me into lunging for her?_ Compton never had a chance with such a fool for his maker.

"It does. You mentioned wanting to meet her."

"I didn't come here to meet the little bitch."

Snorting at her, I slid my hands into my pockets, knowing that it would make her believe it was a vulnerability and itch to use it against me. "Lorena, I'm aware that it's been a while, but you know what you're dealing with. Are you going to drop the stake and play nicely?"

"So you can kill me? I _**DO**_ know what I'm dealing with…"

"Lorena, if you truly had a single sane thought in your head, you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't have come for my Sookie. You wouldn't be standing there with a stake thinking it could do any good against me. I'm stronger. I'm faster. And the only way you're going to get to live long enough to finalize your will is if you drop that fucking stake."

"Or what? You killed my Bill. What else do I have to live for?"

"Your Bill left your side ages ago because you're so blatantly maniacal that your own child couldn't tolerate you. You should have thrown yourself on a chair leg then and saved me the trouble of bothering with you tonight. By my estimation, you owe Sookie and me 17 nights _**each**_. You can either drop your silly little stick and come with me or you can put up a fight."

"To what end?"

"Cooperating guarantees a quick death… resisting comes with a perfunctory 34 nights of ruin, mutilation and violation… and you know I have the means and animals at my disposal to make it happen."

"Don't you get your hands dirty anymore?"

"I didn't say that."

"For a human…?"

"_For my human_. I'm not sure you're catching on, Lorena. Since I rise early in my old age, by the time you rise you'll be enjoying fresh stitches every night… you remember those, don't you? Being flayed and stuffed with silver slag, then sewn back together with fine gauge silver wire… to rise like that every night and then die with a different animal on top of you every morning… _your last 34 nights_… and believe me, if you take me away from Sookie for that long, I'll be inventing new fun. Just. For. You."

"She was Bill's human."

"And?"

"She's responsible. She owes me a child." Over my dead body.

"Calling him a cock drip was the nicest thing I could think of, Lorena. He needed a fucking helmet. If he were smarter or had a smarter maker, he wouldn't have introduced her to me at all. She came to me. She wanted my protection because your stain was such a failure as a vampire he couldn't manage to cover his tracks. You might as well have separated him from his head yourself... Would you like to know how he spent his last night in existence? _Or do you already know?_ Could you feel the silver burning him from Seattle? Did you know that for pocket change, you can buy hundreds of little sterling earring hooks… Pam and I make the occasional bets… whose hooks can hang the longest without pulling through… we use little brass fishing weights. 6 ounces are just enough that they don't slice through too fast…"

"You tortured him before you killed him?"

"I let Pam torture him. She's been a very good girl this year. An early birthday gift of sorts. He'd have gone on like that for a while if he hadn't been royally discontinued."

"That bitch…!"

"You're either talking about THE queen, MY child or MY Sookie…"

"Fine! Your human BITCH! She's the reason…"

"She actually cried for that lump of shit, felt guilt for her part in his asinine choices. She isn't to blame for his incompetence; you are… _Lorena_, you're keeping me from Sookie. I'm losing patience for you. Make your choice."

She stared at me for long enough that I was starting to think she was actually going to take her chances with the stake.

I could've stood there until dawn if it weren't for the fact that Sookie was a wreck. An emotional tornado… overwhelming amounts of horror and fatigue and angst… my only peace came from the gifts she gave me… the scent from my shirt, though fading, offered some tranquility… my rings told me that Pam was close enough to Sookie to be some comfort… They were so close that I could practically see Sookie's hands in Pams.

The source of my impatience was the understanding that Sookie's state wouldn't improve until she saw that I'd given Lorena the chance to be rational. That I didn't kill her recreationally… Just because Sookie wasn't frightened of me, didn't mean that she couldn't be…

I loved her too much to fuck up so early…

Sookie was watching the door when I walked into Shed, tethering one useless cunt in each hand by her hair.

Sookie's emotions seemed to die and her stare became blank… watching me lead the bitches to stand by a pair of chairs I kicked to the middle of the floor… waiting for Siegbert to return from the bathroom and Wybert to be done clearing the lounge…

I didn't need to explain to Pam… she seemed the least interested in our entrance of anyone in our entourage… Salome, Owen, Mickey, Herveaux, Jake… all of them were watching as though they'd paid full price for tickets. I almost made a joke about Paulette not being invited.

Even when Seigbert returned from the bathroom, there was no reaction from Sookie… the silver nets that she disposed of the night before were showcased in his gloved hands…

Sookie watched Siegbert lay the nets out over the seat of each chair and both of the stupid twats tried to take a step away. An act that was only successful in pulling their own hair.

I enjoyed the smug look on Hadley's face too much to make her sit first.

I directed Lorena over her would-be throne. "Lift your skirt. Take a load off."

She balked, making the mistake of sneering.

"Lorena, one night or thirty four, the choice is yours."

She swallowed nothing as she tried to ease herself onto the equivalent of a seat of a branding iron.

"I already have plans for when you try to leave that seat. All I need is an excuse. Understand?"

When she nodded, I finally had the chance to pay some special attention to Hadley.

She was so smug… "You wouldn't. I'm the queens…"

"Retard. You're the queen's least fruitful venture. Your flavor as a human couldn't possibly make up for how you shame her as a vampire. It's only been days since your queen, _your maker_ set the precedent of declaring a human as a protected asset and in your infantile little tantrum brought on by your own foolish sense of entitlement, you led that blood thirsty whore directly to your own kin… I would. I can. I will put your ass on silver until Andre can come take your self-important ass away."

"You'd punish the queen?"

I pulled her closer to laugh in her face, but not so close that she'd spoil my shirt. "No. And you won't either… Since you were so brilliant as to brag about being able to block your own maker from sensing you… Sophie-Ann won't feel a bit of it. If the queen feels the slightest bit of your time-out, then the Fellowship of the Sun will have a young vampire, signed, sealed and delivered to its doorsteps first thing in the morning and you will be their next casualty in the war on vampires."

I let her turn her head enough to see that the Berts were on board and turned her to face me again.

"_You're so young, Hadley_… Do you know how long it'll take to burn? The Berts are sick of how you embarrass and weaken their maker. Andre is sick of babysitting you… Now, Lift. Your. Skirt."

"Sookie! Make him stop! This isn't fair…"

I was worried that I'd overplayed my hand, afraid that one pleading word from Sookie would break me, would make me back down… I still felt nothing from her… she was as much an enigma as she had been the night I'd met her. Turning to look at her wasn't an option… one tear would undo me.

The sound of her throat clearing softly sent chills over my back that became needles while I waited. "Hadley, I'm not sure what you want me to do. I'm smart enough to not defy _my master_." The room actually felt as though it was spinning… without sharing her feelings I didn't know if she agreed with the punishment or if I was going to lose her for forcing her into a morbid recess of habitual bullshit pageantry… and just hearing her call me her master in the midst of the uncertain situation pushed a profound dread into my throat… Calling me master playfully was powerful, promising that she wasn't afraid of what it meant… not between us… but not knowing her state of mind… the idea that she could be hiding hostility and sarcasm under those precious little words… I couldn't swallow.

The only thing to save me was the indignant bitch attached to the hair in my fist. Her attempt to fight for her freedom was foolish at best. The fucking brat thought that punching me, a childish jab to my nose, was going to do anything more than piss me off.

She started crying the moment she realized she hadn't and couldn't really hurt me, not unarmed as she was. I laughed in her face again, "Are you always like this when you're punished?"

"Go. Fuck. Yourself."

"I was serious about blocking Sophie-Ann and what would happen if you don't. We're all prepared to spare her future humiliation."

"Are you deaf…?"

"Berts, you'll let me know?"

When they provided a unified 'sofort', I quickly yanked up the back of Hadley's skirt and shoved her ass onto the chair. I watched her face contort, puffing in short, annoying 'breaths'… Lorena found it in herself to roll her eyes at her coconspirator over the display. Even if Lorena's tacky instigating had brought her to silver many times over the years, she at least had the conceit to not play a victim when her games caught up to her.

While Hadley oscillated between hissing and whining ridiculous obscenities at me, I reminded her that getting up wasn't in her best interest...

If it weren't for my ring, I wouldn't have known Sookie was leaving. She'd quietly nudged Pam so that she could scoot out of the booth and quietly duck into the hall leading to the bathrooms…

Part of me was worried that she was interested in finding the stakes.

I waved Pam off, needing to know for myself what was going through Sookie's head.

Still feeling nothing.

The bathroom was expectedly vacant except for Sookie's heartbeat and shallow breathing. Her feet were under the door of the last stall… and she'd found another way to lock me out.

"Sookie."

More nothing.

"Sookie. I don't need you to open the door. I can go over it or through it. Say something. I can't feel you. It's like the Abbey all over again."

Her face was turned down when she opened the door. She didn't look at me as she wrapped her arms around my sides. "Just give me a minute."

I hated it.

I hated touching Sookie when I had the stench of those fucking bitches on my hands.

I hated that Sookie had closed me out again.

I hated waiting, dangling in suspension while I awaited unknown fallout.

I hated the idea that she might climb into my bubble to hide from talking to me.

I hated all of it…

But I did it.

I gave her the time she asked for…

After a few minutes she began to tremble as though she was freezing and it was only a warning of what was to come… the abrupt and vicious barrage of her feelings hitting our bond as they came back to her was so mind numbing that it made me realize that I wouldn't know what to do with them if I'd had them all along. I felt like I was standing at the base of a dam as it crumbled… paralyzed to stop it and only hoping to not get swept away. But there was no bracing myself for the swell.

Affection. Apathy. Hate. Fear. Security. Pain. Turmoil. Greif. Exhaustion. Spirit. Anger. Pride. Shame. Trust. Nihilism. Relief. Mania. Understanding.

As the flood of every feeling I could identify settled into pools, Sookie's arms tightened around me.

"I'm glad you're ok. How's your nose?"

"_My nose?_ I'm more worried about _my pet_."

"Thank you." Her cousin made the mistake of wearing a g-string on Hot Seat Night at Shed. Sookie thanks me. I'd have to turn her so that she'd live long enough for me to comprehend her.

"What for?"

"You wanted to kill her, but you didn't."

"Sookie, I'm still going to. She can't be trusted to not carry a grudge."

"I know… you gave her the chance to back down though… thank you."

"That isn't all you're thinking about though."

"No."

"Care to share?"

"Not right now… I just really hated worrying about you."

"You need to prepare yourself. Things could get ugly when Andre arrives."

She pulled away to look at me, gasping. "Because you're punishing Hadley?"

"No… He'll pretend to be grateful so that he isn't forced to admit she's out of his control. He's going to take his embarrassment out on her though."

"That's what you're warning me about?"

"Yes."

She laid her head on my chest again. "Fuck her. She's dead to me."

"_She is dead, Sookie_."

She giggled, but her mood took a colder turn. "Since you don't play in the human sandbox often, I'll clarify… There are three types of dead. There is the human termination of earthy existence… There is temporary, solar induced death that vampires dance with… The third kind is 'dead to me'… dead to me basically means that you'd kill them, but you like hating them too much to give them an escape."

"That should be embroidered on a pillow… but you forgot Zombies."

She stepped back and shook her finger at me. "Don't you dare tell me they're real. I'll never sleep again."

I shrugged. "They suck for conversation, but they're great for noodling."

She cracked a smile and poked my ribs when she caught onto the joke. "Keep it up and I'll glue you and Pam together in your sleep. She tried to convince me that some vampires really _sparkle_."

As we came out of the back hall, Hadley was fidgeting… too stupid to realize that squirming only gave her skin the chance to heal and _reburn_. She modified the focus of her pleading from berating Jake about 'growing a set'…

She whined, "_Sookie! How could you let him do this to me? I'm your…"_

Without warning, Sookie moved at a surprising speed to interrupt her cousin by backhanding her. Sookie's hand collided with Hadley's cheekbone hard enough to leave a gash and then she spit at her.

Hadley stood up and barely had the chance to get her legs under herself before Sookie shoved her down onto the chair again while we watched in awe, at the ready to end the confrontation before Sookie was hurt.

She loomed over her cousin, grabbing her face to squeeze her cheeks, mashing her lips into her fangs and drawing blood. "I'm not anything to you. I'm not your cousin. I'm not your friend. I'm not your ally. You played the poor, pitiful vampire princess until it was too late to get protection for Gran. You led Lorena here to turn me on a grudge after doing your best to upset me. The only thing you have left is Jason and I **swear,** if you do anything to harm one hair on his helpless head, I'll end you with a splinter of the home you turned your back on."

"You little bitch! You always got the attention…"

"Well, genius, you're getting plenty now. How's that working out for ya?" Pam and Herveaux snickered behind her.

When Hadley's next tirade began Sookie rolled her eyes and stormed over to where she'd left her purse. Since her back was to me, I couldn't see what she was rooting around for… the only things I had to go on were Sookie's frustration and the way Pam mouthed 'I love her' to me with a raised eyebrow.

I didn't get the feeling that Sookie was tending to her scheme with her back to me secretively. It seemed like circumstance of positioning were to blame for why I was out of the loop. Hadley squirmed more as Sookie reached under the chair and Lorena's bloodied eyes widened while Sookie grumbled that Hadley even managed to 'fuck up dying' like everything else she'd ever tried.

When Sookie stepped back from her hateful kin, there was a patch of silver net affixed over Hadley's mouth. Sookie had gagged her and as she walked past me with a wink, she groaned. "_Thanks a lot, Hadley_. Thanks to your perpetually cranky **suck hole**, I'm out of Crazy Glue and need to replace my Swiss Army." She'd used Crazy Glue to silence a vampire with silver. Crazy Glue.

When Sookie came back from washing her hands in the restroom, Pam started laughing out an absurd song. "_Mother Necessity… With her good intentions_,"

Alcide made it a duet, "_Where would this country be… Without her inventions?"_

Sookie rolled her eyes and joined them (along with Owen) to butcher a verse about the invention of the cotton gin… and then they explained Schoolhouse Rock to those of us who were oblivious to what the fuck they were singing about.

When Andre arrived he seemed truly appreciative of my call about Hadley's location… he began oozing disgust when the outline of her incorporated revenge scheme was explained though. The silver shackles he paraded her through the lobby in were but a clue of what she had to look forward to. Not to mention… he hadn't covered the slowly healing burns on her ass and thighs or taken Sookie's offer to remove the gag.

As a 'token of appreciation' for the evening's entertainment, Salome offered to babysit Lorena until I could return to her just in time for Sookie to thank Jake for 'realizing Hadley needed an intervention' and keep her dinner plans in spite of everything…

Since Merlotte was still 'in the wind', Sookie used that as her excuse to invite Herveaux to dinner… and no sooner than we entered the lobby, Sookie provided a pair of diversionary donors for Wybert and Siegbert… _and had to promise to find some 'fresh meat' for Pam later._

Any fool would've known she was up to something when she insisted on specific seating arrangements. The only empty seat in the booth was across from me and next to Pam. At least the bigger table and booth would provide a buffer from vodka being breathed into the shirt that had even gotten Andre's attention.

Sookie had seemingly gotten a second wind. With yet another immediate threat out of the way, we both enjoyed her lighter mood.

At 10:10 I asked her if she thought 'her date' had decided to stand her up.

She giggled and swept her foot over my shin as she turned my hand over in her lap. " E." But hadn't made a showing? O_ur company._

I returned, " Y?"

" D."

"P?"

"A. S." As closed off as Michelle was, that wasn't a surprise.

"?"

" G."

" T?"

Sookie made the mistake of nodding her answer…

Pam leaned towards us. "What was that? Are you two… _Can you…_?" I was sure she was implying that Sookie could read my mind now that we were bonded.

Before I had the chance to categorically deny anything, Sookie's mood became mischievous… she placed a finger to her lips and quietly hushed Pam.

Pam gasped, "Bullshit."

Sookie shrugged.

"You're just fucking with me."

Sookie stared while I spelled out a message and was quite possibly having more fun than I should be allowed. Sookie matched Pam's lean. "The reason you don't have any body hair is because your maids got body lice so you'd been sugaring." She turned her head to look at me. "What's sugaring?" I'd only just thought of the short way to spell out the process when she winked. "_OhhhhOhhh_. And it doesn't hurt like waxing?"

Pam shot back in her seat and gaped. Her eyes moved like a tennis ball between us while I spelled another message.

I smiled and shook my head. I definitely hadn't had Pam going like that in ages.

Sookie started to giggle. "The first thing you did when BetaMax came out was record Saturday Morning Cartoons on all three networks and you tried to _**call in sick**_ to watch them all that night."

Pam looked de-animated so Herveaux snapped his fingers in front of Pam's face a few times. "Great. Y'all broke her." Even I laughed… and spelled out more trivia.

Sookie laughed again. "_You've been shopping for a new name since '88 because you hate Toto_?" Herveaux started laughing that he knew just enough of the lyrics to 'Pamela' to have some fun with that fact. Then Pam elbowed him for humming it.

Sookie added to the fun, letting go of my hand to dig through her purse to find her cell phone and dissuade Pam from catching on by using her hands. "Sampson and Delilah. Homer and Marge. Adam and Eve… _Hansel and Gretel_."

Pam shook her head suddenly. "Alright stop. That's just…" She stopped talking when she realized that Sookie was eying her carefully. "…What?"

Sookie spun her head around to give me a 'surprised' look. "Eric, if I didn't know better… it's faint but…" She winked again as she disappeared under the table, dragging her hand over my lap on her way to the other side. When she reappeared next to Pam she sidled in as closely as she could, staring almost as intensely as Michelle had done to me the night before. "…This is… _it's quiet_… Think something. Really concentrate on it…"

Pam's chin disappeared into her neck, leaning away from Sookie's invasion of her personal space while she waited.

Sookie whispered. "_Ssss_…sucker… Sucker?"

Pam gasped. "Close enough! 'Mother fucker'… _motherfuckermotherfuckermoth erfucker_…"

Sookie tilted her head and gave her a relatively curious look. "_Nooooo_. Pam. I'm pretty sure… Yeah… Definitely. It's _SUCKER_."

"No. It was mother fucker… why would I think about a… OH! YOU! BITCH!"

While Herveaux and I roared, completely, to our cores amused at the result of Sookie's joke and the residual expression on Pam's face, Sookie leapt out of the booth to spare herself an embittered blow from her victim.

Our noise had attracted plenty of attention by the time I let Sookie scoot back into her place…

Herveaux was wiping his eyes. "Fuck. Sookie, I'm crying. _Crying_… If I can't tell folks about that prank I'm going to be pissed… _That was too good_."

As it turned out, he'd seen our hands moving all along and figured us out, but wanting to share the prank, reminded Sookie that I hadn't called Flood yet.

The call didn't take long. Explaining that there was no way to predict the lengths humans will go to probably didn't dissolve his paranoia that I harbored any resentment, but it did relieve me of the responsibility of any pending health problem he might develop from ruminating. I'd tried. I tried to settle his nerves and even thanked him for his cooperation and what his pack had accomplished. My attempts to 'play nice' were rewarded with teasing little fingernails running along my inner thing and waking up every part of my body below my belt.

Michelle's arrival was immediately noticed… It seemed that Sookie was much better at hiding her wear and tear than Michelle. It could probably be explained by the fact that Sookie was immersed in society while Michelle enjoyed a more hermit-like status.

Her choice of clothing helped her appearance. Although frail could still describe her frame, it wasn't as obvious thanks to her padded bra, properly fitting dress and curled hair. The baggy clothing and limp hair had made her seem skeletal last night.

She leaned against the side of our booth with an unsure grin. "I wasn't sure I'd join y'all, but I could use a good laugh and I could hear y'all in the lobby."

I nodded to the empty seat as invitation. "Alcide, Pam, this is Sookie's friend Michelle."

"Hey. Nice to meet you. So what were y'all going on about?"

"Sookie had Pam wholly convinced that she could suddenly read vampire minds."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head at the casual mention of telepathy. "Not only is it a source of income, but it's good for parlor tricks too, huh sweets?"

Sookie nodded. "Among other things."

"_Such as…?"_

"It makes me one hell of a wing man."

Pam laughed, "Amen."

Sookie suddenly became troubled and immediately kicked Herveaux under the table earning a scowl from her guard.

She mumbled at him, "My shoes aren't even on. Stop."

"I'm right."

"I'm going to…" She turned her attention to Michelle. "I'm sorry. He figured it out."

Michelle sat back and pointed. "Good for you, smarty pants. Now what the fuck are you? Your brain is impossible."

"_THAT ONE_ doesn't have a problem."

"That one has more practice and a coach. What are you?"

By the end of a long exchange of glances between the three of them Michelle was left staring at Herveaux.

Pam broke the silence as she signaled the waitress. "I'm not buying it."

Instead of trying to convince her, we laughed and moved on.

Michelle didn't drink nearly as heavily as she had during our previous dinner. Much more of their conversation was voiced as well. She seemed more comfortable being around other non-humans just as much as Sookie … The two of them even teased Herveaux about the waitress's 'plans' for him.

Once the 'chewing' portion of dinner was over Sookie ended a brief silent exchange with a smile… "Hey Pam, you should fix your makeup while Alcide escorts me to the bathroom."

Pam rolled her eyes. "Subtle, Sookie. Really subtle."

Michelle stood to let everyone slide out and as she scooted, Sookie snorted, "You glow in the damn dark, Pam. What do you know from subtle?"

Michelle watched them leave and was still smiling when she turned back to me. "How full of shit is she?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't heard most of your conversations."

"Say I get a 'job'. What does that mean?"

"It would depend on the job. What did you and Sookie discuss?"

"She thought that the casino might want to hire me to do what she's doing for them on a smaller scale because I'm not as strong as her." The equivalent of using an antenna when satellites are down, but better than nothing.

"That's entirely likely."

"Could I stay secret or would I end up being 'The Telepath' like Sookie?"

"I'm sure arrangements could be made to offer the illusion of being a normal employee, but some would have to know. You have to be aligned with Salome for protection and some of her staff would have to be made aware of your ability so that they can understand why you'd be able to give orders."

"Sookie said that exposure could be 'minimal', but zero would be impossible."

"Michelle, you need to realize that if you are exposed, if you find yourself publicizing your gift for any reason, there will be no going back. You will need protection, a master for as long as you live. There are those of us who would value your services, but there are some of us who would exploit you for financial and political gain. You would have to leave the country and create a new identity in order to 'retire' completely. The only other option would be to become a vampire. Even then you'd have to be able to trust your maker to protect you instead of using you. You understand that, yes?"

She nodded. "This Salome… How well do you know her?"

"I've known her for centuries. She's patient and as above-board as I've seen. She achieved her rank as Sheriff because she's loyal and she's known to mediate as well as Solomon. She'd more than likely be willing to offer protection and a contract. When your contract is up, she'd let you move on, but do her best to encourage you to stay."

"Would you be willing to talk to her? Sookie said that she would but you're the business man... There's stuff in her contract that she never would've thought about because of differences between vampires and humans. And… money is kind of subjective…"

"Silly little things like _rest_ escape most of us after a while and holidays tend to be nothing more than a reason to have a party. As for the money… _How much would you like to make?_"

"I don't know… see… that's the thing. What should I ask for? I couldn't do it for less than $10 an hour. That's what I made housekeeping and I was making ends meet."

I tried to not laugh at her underestimation. "I'm sure that won't be a problem."

She stared at the candle in the middle of the table for a moment before letting a long breath. "Alright… put me in, coach."

"I just told you that retiring quietly isn't an option."

"Eric, I'm a recluse now. If I need to change my name from Michelle Johnson to Jennifer Smith and move to Reykjavík…"

"Learn Spanish or Mandarin. It's more versatile. Don't paint yourself into a corner. I suggest you plan an escape route and safehouse immediately. Just in case."

"Alright."

"Alright?"

"Yeah. I don't have a life as it is. I don't have much to lose."

While Herveaux decided to retire, Pam opted to join us in the casino. She liked to watch Sookie work.

Rather than play, we made ourselves comfortable at one of the closed tables. There was a steady stream of vampires who would sit at the empty end of the table after quietly setting an envelope by my elbow. Sookie greeted each one with manners that weren't surprising me anymore.

More than half of the ones she felt the need to deliver bad news in person to had been waiting for her when she was waiting out the unfolding family drama in Shed. Four of them returned with more pets and the rest of the anathema was waiting for her when Sookie entered the casino.

There were more than a few occasions when Sookie seemed still enough to be 'talking' to Michelle while she observed from the active poker table next to our post.

Sookie had just cleared the 3rd pet in ten minutes when Salome joined us to ask about progress.

The report that Baton Rouge pets seemed to be either well behaved or 'straight from the depths of hell' (even those were few and far between though) was ended with another customer.

Michelle had been watching the envelopes become a stack of $31,000, probably believing it to be closer to $3,100, so since she was within earshot I tested the waters.

"Salome, I have a hypothetical question for you." Michelle twitched.

"What's that?"

"If someone were to be discovered to be in your casino and using an ability _like_ Sookie's, what would you do?" Pam could have bit through her to cheek when she realized we'd been serious at dinner and Michelle folded with an Ace high flush making it hard to keep a straight face.

She laughed. "What am I, a fool? I'd hire them on the spot!"

"How much would you offer them?"

"Whatever they wanted, plus the kitchen sink and my youngest child as a slave."

I laughed, "Mickey would hardly be an incentive… Seriously, _what kind of contract would you offer such a hypothetical person?"_

Her eyes sparkled when she realized she wasn't dealing with a hypothetical opportunity. "For the sake of argument, would this notion of a being be as skilled as your Sookie?"

"Hmmm, just for the sake of argument then, let's say that said individual has the potential to be as talented _with practice_."

Our amusing little negotiation was interrupted by one of Sookie's customers and Salome seemed to be resisting the urge to vibrate impatiently until Sookie informed him that his car hadn't been stolen last year. _His pet sold it._

As soon as they were gone again, Salome took the reins of conversation. "I'd offer such a person $1000 per night, protection, and all of the working arrangements that are contingent in Sookie's contract."

"How would you go about things if said person were adamant about remaining theoretical? Would it be possible for only a pair, no more, of your staff members to know the true nature of their speculative position?"

"_Completely possible_. Said person's position might be 'Loss Prevention Manager' or something of the like. Of course a hypothetical talent wouldn't be able to enjoy the additional income from clinics." Sookie was positively giddy and showing nothing.

"Maybe this imaginary contract should allow for clinics and sidework if the pretend individual were to manifest willingly."

"Indeed."

After a moment of anxious quiet, Sookie's foot found my thigh… "G O" Where she put the O and _how_ almost made my fangs run out.

"Well then Salome, in the interest of a potential whimsical windfall, maybe drawing a probationary contract for your wish list would be engaging."

She did nothing but stare except for the 8 times she blinked. "Where?"

"Playing house with 7 dwarves." _Well, playing poker with a full house. 7s over 5s. _When Sookie giggled I couldn't tell if it was because she'd heard me, or Michelle 'told' her.

"The queen?"

"She already has Sookie at her beck and call and wouldn't need a second with limits and no training."

"Your finder's fee?"

"Already taken care of."

"Bullshit… Do you want a slave?"

I laughed at her. "Stop trying to franchise out that heel and go type."

"Tomorrow night?"

"In our room. It's more private."

"I'll go arrange for that babysitter."

Michelle wisely went home without as much as a nod in our direction (probably as a safety measure Sookie suggested) and Pam left us for 'greener pastures'… Greener pastures was code for the barely-legal bimbo with a pierced septum and a tree frog tattoo on the side of her neck. An homage to the Emo menu options that Fangtasia previously offered perhaps.

Sookie had pushed herself until 1am… but her second wind was failing her. Since the flow of customers had slowed to a trickle, I decided that it was time to quit for the night…

We were halfway…

Halfway between the gaudy entrance to the casino and the bank of elevators…

I should've known better than to think we'd get away that easily.

Even though I'd slowed to match Sookie's stiletto hindered gate, I still almost hurt her arm when she halted suddenly… It didn't seem as though her feelings had caught up to whatever stopped her and my only hint was a breathed, 'stupid _sonofabitch'_.

"Sook…"

She quickly silenced me by putting her fingers to my lips, shook her head and whispered 'later' as she started walking, no, _**sprinting**_ towards the elevator…

A man called her name and she did her very best to ignore it… and the only thing that kept Sookie from slipping around the corner to escape into a waiting elevator was the loud, harsh slap from just behind us… the noise was unique to a body crashing onto marble with force.

Considering how quickly she'd been moving this time, her instant standstill could only be called violent.

Unsure of what she'd been running from since I was only guessing that it was her Shifter, I put her behind me as we turned … Herveaux had a man pinned to the floor, arms twisted behind his back at impossible angles and Owen was only inches away from them. "Sheriff, Miss Stackhouse, we'll take care of him."

The man under Herveaux jolted, not enough to free himself from having a knee grinding between his shoulder blades, just a semi-successful attempt to lay his eyes on Sookie. "Sook! Sookie… tell them you know me!" When his scent reached me, the odor of grease confirmed it was the Shifter_, the putz_… and he'd made one hell of an entrance.

Sookie groaned louder than I thought she could given her fatigue. "I know the jackass… Alcide, could you please let him up… Owen, is there somewhere private we can borrow for just a minute?"

He gave a nod. "Certainly. Whenever you're ready."

I found it difficult to not laugh at Herveaux. He was annoyed enough that he had to let Merlotte up, that he manhandled and berated him all the way to the small office that Owen led us to. My favorite of his slurs: 'Retarded piece of shit shifter. What the fuck do you smell like? Is your familiar a chicken fucking nugget?' Not only was I forced to crack a smile, but it broke through Sookie's irritation enough to warrant a giggle.

Owen stopped at the door to stand sentry and Herveaux shoved his captive through the door with enough strength to send him over a chair and, again, onto the floor.

Sookie took a step towards him and grabbed the back of his shirt. "It's ok. He's not a threat, just an idiot. What are you doing downstairs anyway?"

"The Berts' dinner break freaked out Maria-Star… She woke me up to keep her company while she ate… We were leaving the restaurant when I saw him tear off after you… if he's fine, why were you avoiding him?"

"I just didn't feel like dealing with him." If the shadows under her eyes weren't enough she yawned enough to make her eyes water.

"So this weasel… wait… pussy… no… cockroach… I got it… _**Jackass**_." _Who'd have thought a Were could have as much fun with animal humor as I could… _

"Yep. That's Sam."

He growled and started for the door. "I'll be with Owen…" And continued to grumble, "yeah, Sookie's the dumb one… she's got a state worth of vampires eating out of the palm of her hand… stupid fucking shifter… shift into a higher life form… like a fucking hamster… one of those would know better than to go after a vampire's pet at night at least… fucking idiot…" Sookie had apparently filled him in on Sam's flawed perspective of her life.

As amusing as his rant was, curiosity made me stop him. "Where is Cooper?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, but I'm packing her shit and sending her home if you're alright with it. She should've at least circled as backup. She's a wooden fucking leg if she's too spooked by y'all to deal with her own kind."

I gave him a nod. "Agreed."

Sookie and I waited impatiently for her shifter to collect himself. "I think he broke my rib." _Alert the Humane Society._

Sookie snorted, "It's a shame y'all heal so fast. Otherwise, it might teach you a lesson about chasing after people like you did. What the hell are you doing here, Sam?"

His look was angry and disbelieving. "I guess I just had to see it for myself."

"See what exactly?"

"Jason came to the bar tonight. When Lafayette asked after you, I heard him say that when your 'business trip' got cut short by the bombing, Northman brought you here… I tried to track down Compton to see what was going on… but… I can't believe you're letting him use you like this."

She rolled her eyes and came over to lean back against me. "_**You really are a jackass**_. You nearly got yourself killed over nothing."

"How is this nothing!? He's got you using your disability to make money at a casino and he's dressing you like a slutty doll…" _Slutty?_ It was almost a shame that Fangtasia wasn't still standing… He could've easily seen 'slutty' without getting out of his car. Knowing that Sookie's dress was Fendi, I was tempted to report his remarks to Pam… but she'd drain him.

Before he had the chance to insult her again, Sookie grabbed a Rolodex from the desk and hurled it at his face. In spite of how deserved it was, I pulled her back to keep her from doing something she'd regret… She was furious and exhausted, but hurt and disappointment were starting to take over her feelings.

Sookie hissed, "One more crappy thing out of your mouth and I will start your whopping and let Eric finish it… I am NOT lining his pockets in the casino, you sanctimonious asshole. I'm here because of the bombing. The sheriff of this area hired me to listen for the wackos from the Fellowship because she's been having problems. Congratulations on making the world's longest jump to the wrong conclusion. Guinness Book's gonna need your picture."

"Hired you? How did he find out about you at all?"

"She. Salome found out about me because I outed myself. Eric already knew about my ability and didn't say a word until I called the queen to be put under his protection instead of Bill's… Bill was the one using me."

"Do I get to say 'I told you so'?"

"Say whatever the hell you want, Sam."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, if you think after losing my grandmother, my cat, nearly dying and being played like a pawn by someone I trusted isn't enough… go ahead and rub my nose in how you told me Bill Compton would use me. Pat yourself on the back while you're at it."

Herveaux grumbled from the hallway that he'd volunteer to do the patting if 'McNugget' couldn't reach.

"That isn't what I mean, Sookie. Why do you have to be so damn pigheaded?"

"Because that's who I am. I'm a pigheaded telepath. You're an obtuse shifter. I hardly think it's worth mentioning anymore. I'm exhausted. I was on my way to bed when you showed up. You can either check in and stick around so we can talk tomorrow, or just go home and call me later. Your call. Either way, I'm not up for your horse shit tonight."

"Will you be allowed to talk to me without your big scary vampire looming over us?"

"_You're the one scared of him_. And no, he won't be around, but I'd have to kill Alcide to keep him from being there along with the hotel guards."

"You're not allowed to go anywhere without a guard?"

"Sam, after seeing for yourself what kind of crap I've been through over the past couple of weeks, what makes you think I'd want to be anywhere without a guard? You said yourself that I should get a gun…"

"A sadistic Were isn't better than a gun."

"He isn't sadistic. He's protective…" And getting a raise.

"And I guess you'll defend vampires until you're dead too, huh?"

"Depends on the vampire, Sam. I've got a few who want to kill me and I've got a few who kiss my ass… I'll talk to you once you've calmed down."

When we left, he tried to follow us… but Owen helped Herveaux fill the doorway (not that he needed help). Sookie's Were growled, "Give us an excuse."

Owen hissed, "You're lucky she's willing to talk to you tomorrow."

When the elevator doors closed behind us, Sookie all but slumped against my chest.

She was nearly asleep by the time we reached our floor. She let me carry her to our room and deposit her in the bed without resisting because she didn't have the energy.

She hummed as she nuzzled into the pillow, "I wish you could glamour me so I won't worry. Be careful."

"I'm always careful."

"Then be _extra_ careful. Love you."

"I love you too. I'll be back soon."

The door was closed behind me before I realized what I'd said…

In the elevator before I realized that I meant it…

The stake I used to end Lorena was in the puddle on the floor with the rest of her before she knew I was in the room with her…

I had better things to do than waste time with her when I could be with Sookie.


	15. Chapter 15

Meanwhile

Chapter 15

No One

The room was so dense...

It smelled as though I'd managed to lie in a sunbeam unharmed.

As my body came back to my control I noticed the neatly folded piece of paper in my palm.

I was slow opening it and looking at the clock to see that it was earlier than usual, suggested that the sky was overcast since it was so early… The idea made me wonder (jokingly, of course) if Sookie had indeed managed to bottle her scent… until I heard the thunderclap and the crash of a nearby transformer being hit by lightening through the ceiling.

I smiled to myself that if the storms were persistent enough, I might last past dawn and be able to remember it.

Before I read the note, I was met with a concentration of her scent. Sunlight and sweetness… she'd wrinkled the bright pink paper slightly when she transferred the scent… _just for me_.

'_Jerk.  
A- Shame on you for letting me sleep all night.  
1- I missed you.  
2- I was awake and full of energy too early.  
B- The jailhouse treatment until 2 drove me nuts.  
1- I got bored with the TV and there wasn't anything to read so used your laptop to take care of a few things.  
2- Paulette came back from the studio with my ring and the box haunted me from the bar.  
3- I entertained myself at Pam's expense.  
C- By the time we ate lunch, I only had an hour at the pool before the storms hit.  
1- I left as much of a treat as possible.  
2- Being inside brought good news though.  
Sam and Hadley (by extension, Jason) will be involved in your update.  
Hopefully, I'll feel you wake up again and be up shortly.  
Love, Sookie'_

I could have written my own list in reply.

Brat.  
A- You needed to rest.  
1- Your ability could've been hampered.  
2- You'd had enough energy drinks to cause a nervous tick in the vampire you're bonded to.  
3- You didn't sleep as much as you thought since once I returned, you cuddled my thigh and talked while I tended to the Fangtasia nonsense from my laptop.  
B- As caged as I'm sure you felt, you were a willing prisoner because you know I was right about why you needed to take time off.  
1- There are worse ways to be jailed than in a High Roller Suite with anything you want being just a phone call away.  
2- The box that 'haunted' you from the bar, while accidental, seems like payback to me. Need I remind you that your little IOU had me fully engaged in poker for the first time ever?  
C- Sadly I have no control over the weather.  
1- There is enough treat remaining that I don't want to leave the room.  
2- Ever.  
I have a feeling that whatever you need to tell me about your Shifter and family is going to annoy me. Consider me braced.  
Not only did you feel me rise, but I felt your mood become eager only a moment later… and you've been on your way back to me ever since…

I could have written it, but didn't. I played with Sookie's ring. Sliding it on and off… still amazed. It wasn't just how well the charm worked, but how inclined Sookie had been to it… I could find her anywhere. The bond alone, even the partial one we had at the time, would have led me to her if she had been on the other side of the planet. There wouldn't be any escaping me unless I let her go… and that wouldn't happen. The idea should have frightened her. It still annoyed me that my maker could find _me_. But Sookie was so determined for us to be able to find one another that she'd participated in creating her own tracking device.

If we were to 'enter the land of shadow and substance' again, I would definitely make the suggestion to our counterparts… If we never found the spell to be intimately helpful, then I'd simply find myself proudly wearing a reminder of my Sookie's ingenuity.

I could feel her smile before the door to our room opened even though her mood was contradicting itself. Happy and troubled.

A mismatched combination, but not surprising given their host who stopped to stand at the end of the bed. Her tiny denim shorts and the playfully low neckline of her t-shirt made me want to get my hands on her that much more. 'Behaving' so that she could get some much needed rest, hadn't been as easy as I thought it would be. Hours alone with her in bed was exactly what I'd wanted, but that was where my goals stopped being accomplished… Wanting less clothing and more cumming made my hands itch to leave the keyboard. _When she'd been purring against my thigh…_

"Come here."

"I don't want to ruin anything. I smell like Weres and pets now." The way she pulled her lip when she'd said 'pets' was amusing enough without considering that she was noticing more subtle notes to scents… It was adorably haughty of her to say out loud that their scent would ruin her own traces.

"I'll manage." She'd smelled much worse and I still couldn't stay away from her.

She kicked her shoes off and crawled up the bed to straddle me… "I was worried that I was just feeling you because I wanted to… it being so early."

"It's unusual, but not unheard of for me. It's because of the storm… Other than your miserable seclusion in your penthouse suite, how was your day, Rapunzel?"

"I'm supposed to start at the beginning?"

"No. Start at the elevator and explain backwards."

She gasped trying to resist the smile forming at the corners of her mouth as she slapped my chest. "That's shitty."

I twisted my fingers into her hair and pulled her face down to mine…. And enjoyed every bit of the way she absentmindedly arched her back to rub into me while we kissed. "You're stalling. What is it that you don't want to explain?"

"That Sam's a bonehead. He must've tried to talk to me 20 different times before I was _freed_. Alcide finally answered my phone and told him that if he kept it up, he'd squeeze his neck until his head popped off… and then play soccer with it. He finally backed off and just waited until 2 so we could meet for lunch."

"So he stayed here at the hotel last night?"

"Yeah. He thought without you around I'd let him take me home."

"He arrived thinking you needed to be rescued?" _Absolutely hilarious. _"…I assume he's on his way home now then."

"Yeah. He's calmed down a lot though. He expected a lot and didn't see any of it… The jerk felt better when he saw me in my bikini… well, for a minute…"

"What was he expecting? And why for only a minute? Did he immediately begin humping strangers' legs?"

"He was expecting you to pull that 'mine' shit that Bill used to do any time anyone looked at me… He expected me to be upset or unhappy… He expected me to look like a fangbanger or malnourished or scared… The reason his reaction to seeing me in my bathing suit was short lived was because I could hear that he was happy to not see me covered in fang marks. _Alcide_ couldn't hear it though. I was trying to ignore Sam's thoughts and enjoy the sun, so I didn't see it coming. Alcide caught him staring at my thighs and punched him in his throat. Told him that even if I didn't belong to a vampire powerful enough to 'disappear' him that he should show me some effing respect if we're such good 'friends'… then he rumbled and grumbled like he did last night. I don't think Sam's name has ever crossed his lips. Dick head, asshole, _McNugget_… _that one's really starting to piss Sam off_… the waitress at lunch snuck up on him so Alcide called him 'Chicken Little' a few times. I swear, I can totally picture Alcide locking nerds in lockers in high school. He was a bully from the minute we were in the elevator."

"Chicken Little… No. I still like _McNugget_… Did _McNugget_ meet you upstairs?" Perhaps the olfactory challenged idiot would strive to improve his menu if the nickname annoyed him enough.

She giggled, "No. Alcide was fussing at me about demeanor. He barked (no pun intended) that I wasn't _allowed_ to touch Sam and that I should curtail friendliness. Just because vampires aren't around, doesn't mean their pets wouldn't gossip. Stuff I already knew, but he was just ornery about it."

"Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"He's been with you for the past few days. This seems to be your first complaint about him. So, since you can read minds, why was he 'ornery' today?"

"Sam. He called him a 'retarded, self-centered sadomasochist' for showing up here. He was thinking that if Sam's so sure that you're a monster, that he should've thought about what would happen to me after his grand entrance last night. Sam should've been thinking about the bigger picture than just his Knight in shining armor fantasy that I needed saving. Alcide was thinking that assholes like Mickey would mark me up and parade me around just to prove to Sam that I was his to do what he wanted with." _Again_, the wolf was proving that he was more than just hired muscle.

"Are you complaining about Alcide's perspective?"

"No. Not really. He's right… I mean… Sam didn't think about it. It's just… Kind of a slap in the face that some stuff still doesn't occur to me." _And then there are times when she can solve any problem with Crazy Glue._

"It will with time. You're young yet. You'll learn."

She snorted. "You say that like I'm a newborn vampire." One could hope.

"You are of sorts. Considering your company and profession, the only difference is that I don't need to teach you to stop feeding before you kill."

"That's a pleasant thought."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "The steak you savagely devoured the other night bled all over the plate." Not to mention the fact that she'd fed directly from me later that night. She hadn't quite realized how much less squeamish she was becoming.

She giggled, admitting that she saw my point of view with a nod. "Moving on?"

"Since I seem to have made my point, definitely. Your note mentioned that you did something to Pam. What will she be blaming me for?"

She giggled again and moved to take my phone from the bedside table. "I guess you haven't checked this yet…" Why would I bother with business related bullshit when there had been sunshine waiting in my hand?

She held my phone out and one look… _**one look**_ and I was grateful that my death negated my need to breathe… and piss… Sookie had outdone herself. I was laughing so uncontrollably that it was hard to keep from jostling Sookie onto the floor.

My new homescreen… _beautiful_. I wouldn't have done anything any differently if there was a stake at my heart…

Starting at Pam's feet…

Gold lame slippers with maribu trim.

Gaudy socks that made Pam's ankles look like rolls of candy.

An elastic garter was on each one of her thighs… one was light blue and white lace, the other was dark green and glittery.

The garters were over equally mismatched stockings. One black fishnet. One white.

A dangerously bright yellow, baggy T-shirt that barely covered her hips and had nothing more than a cartoon bird's face as a design.

Each and every one of Pam's fingernails were painted a different color.

Both hands had an onion ring around each of her fingers.

Rainbows of plastic bands covered her wrists along with something that looked like a Swatch. _The Swatch, Pam would just add to her collection._

Pam's face was caked with a green mud-like paste.

Her lips were smeared with a nauseating shade of brown.

And Pam's hair was pulled up around countless pink sponge curlers…

The crown poking out of the nest of curlers was plastic and said 'birthday girl'.

And I laughed the whole time I memorized the picture captioned 'OWNED'.

"Sookie… She's going to come after you… This is… This…" If I were human, I might have felt lightheaded, drunk, euphoric.

She looked so proud of herself. "I already have my volley taken care of."

"Where did you…? How… This is priceless!"

"TV was boring me, so I grabbed your laptop and Alcide helped me do the internet thing to make sure my checks had cleared so I could pay my bills…" She paused, feeling a brief 'uh oh' because she didn't remember that I'd discovered my uncashed check, but she tried to ignore her little 'whoops'. "…It was perfect timing, really. I was just starting to whine about being bored when Paulette came back. Sydney had followed her up to see if there was anything we need… All of the stuff came from the hotel's storage locker where they keep stuff folks leave behind in their rooms."

"You had help in this?"

She drew back, shaking her head. "Nuh-uh! Those cowards didn't want any parts of my fun. The closest anyone got was Alcide. He stood at the door and sang that I was going to get it."

"He's right. You may very well…"

"She started it. She started it and you wouldn't let her kill me, so I figured I'd blow off some steam… She'll have fun acting like I started it, but last night… While she was in Shed with me, she started glamouring the donors to think about Alcide and her and the Berts and… I was attacked with mental porn starring everyone I know while I was delivering news to seriously victimized vampires." That was funny in its own right.

I chuckled again, taking one last look at my homescreen before putting it aside so I could focus. I rested back to the bed again, taking Sookie with me. "I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard, but last night at the restaurant… Wait, wouldn't that be your payback for the porn?"

"No. That was just joking around on the fly. Fun with friends… the slumber party prank was 'getting her'."

"Are you sure she knows the difference?" I wouldn't.

"Pretty sure." She didn't seem at all worried that things could quickly get out of hand when it came to engaging in a prank war with Pam. I'd given Pam more than 300 years of material to recycle.

"I'm going to keep my eye on things regardless. She's been known to get carried away… Other news?"

"I found the missing vampires."

"Really? How did that happen?"

"When the storms rolled in, we came in to change and then headed down to the casino. My dealer at the blackjack table is the pet of one of the missing vampires. It's a long story, but he was late for work because there was more traffic than he expected between work and the safehouse where the other vampires are holed up. I've got a phone number for Salome to call. They got spooked because of the bombing and decided to lay low while they felt things out." Cowards.

"As it turned out there wasn't much reason for you to be here then. Since the vandalisms were in house and the missing vampires hadn't been 'sacrificed'…"

"Eh, it was smart to come here though. I mean… Now Salome can warn her vampires about what Newlin is up to and can keep an eye on the Weres. I think she should call the Packmasters here and ask them for a courtesy call in case new guys show up for no reason since Arkansas is going to be an issue until Sophie-Ann takes over."

"The concern keeping her from asking is her lack of previous cooperation."

"Fear based reluctance. Alcide and I talked about it this morning. Vampires don't tend to explain. Anyone would be suspicious of doing a favor without hearing the reasons. All she has to do is explain why she needs the heads up then their imaginations wouldn't lead them to possible clandestine motives… a phone call is a simple favor to ask for, so it wouldn't cost her much in return."

"That depends on the Were though. That's how I've come to deal with Flood, but his predecessor wasn't nearly as obliging. I'll suggest she offer the proverbial olive branch though… Was there more to your day? "

Sookie grimaced when she nodded. "I probably should have saved that picture of Pam for later. Hadley called me."

"When did she call you?"

"It was about 11ish, I guess. The storm hit New Orleans first…"

"No. That doesn't matter. She isn't old enough that she'd wake up a moment before sunset even given the storm."

Sookie sat up, away from my chest… confusion and curiosity bouncing between us while I watched her thoughts dance across her usually well controlled face. "Eric?"

I was almost sure that we were on the same page. "Yes?"

"She can block herself off from her maker." Almost like Sookie can become a nonentity to me.

"It's unheard of, but it seems to be the case."

"She can be awake during the day?"

"If she called you at 11, then yes. Equally uncharacteristic to her state of being as it is, that seems to be the case as well."

She stared down at me for a moment trying to battle away a hailstorm of emotions. "Does that mean… Eric do you think that means that I'd be like that too… If I became a vampire I mean…" Bingo. As usual, we seemed to share complementary epiphanies. This one… _Sookie becoming a vampire._

"There's no way to be sure."

She started crying before I felt the fear sweep over her. "Would I be like that?"

"There are too many variables. You're only cousins so half of her genetics differ from yours… Her maker and I have practically polar opposite personalities…"

"Eric, I mean hateful and crazy… We know that I'm part Faerie and that she is too… that's why she was so attractive to them…"

I tried hushing her, sitting up to close the gap between us. "Is there any reason we should be concerned about this, Sookie? The last time I heard, you didn't want to become a vampire."

She put her hands to my chest to push away, but only slightly. "Don't bullshit away from this, Eric. You know I'd end up considering it… _I don't want to be like that_."

"Do you remember when I told you that taking vampire blood doesn't change a person; it only enhances what's already part of them?"

She nodded, biting her lip as though she were waiting for a movie fiend to jump out of the closet with an axe.

"Even though the first vampire blood you had was that of an uninspired coward, when I met you, you were still anything but." If anything, she might've been adopting some of Compton's paranoia, but her generalized suspicions could easily be blamed on actual circumstances rather than imagined ones.

She nodded again, still not relaxing in the slightest.

"I also remember hearing that she was always unpredictable and egocentric… If those were her most defined characteristics as a human, then it would explain why she's how she is now."

"Then… what do you think I would be like then?" If it weren't for the affectionately scented note I rose to, causing the deprived and lingering stiffness she was already sitting on, I'd have given myself away… Even hearing Sookie speak in hypothetical terms about becoming a vampire... fucking incredible…

"_If you were to be turned,_ I think your maker will have a wickedly determined, enterprising and captivating newborn on his hands."

"Could you put up with me? Would I embarrass you like Hadley…" Her breathing sputtered and her tears fell more readily as her interruption. It wasn't at all lost on me that while I was trying to stay in the realm of theory to avoid pushing my luck, she was clutching to the finite concept of becoming _MY_ child. Mine.

Jokingly reminding her that I'd 'put up with' Pam for more than 3 centuries wasn't going to fix the situation. "Sookie, you've yet to embarrass me. I wouldn't just be tolerating you. I'd be privileged if you chose to let me enjoy you forever."

More surprising than how much I meant what I'd said, was how relieved she was to hear it… Her arms quickly went around my sides to strap her to me. She cried quietly while she tried to calm herself unsuccessfully and it tickled a curiosity I'd harbored for a while. As I did my best to push some manner of soothing, some comfort to her through our bond, her arms only tightened around me… eventually she'd calmed down enough to actually thank me in a tiny little whisper against my neck, but still clung to me.

"It's not something worth fretting over now, Sookie. There are years between us and that decision."

She nodded, staying hidden at the base of my neck.

"Why did she call?" My only hope of enjoying the proud excitement she'd been feeling before was moving past the topic of her fears of being a disappointment like Mickey and Hadley.

"To shit hate."

So help me, _I chuckled_. The way she worded some things… some of her phraseology was why I could be surprised at how well read she was, but some of it was worth adding to my own repertoire. "How precisely did she choose to _shit hate_ today?"

Sookie giggled, albeit weakly and pulled her face away from me a tiny bit. "She said that I was the one to deserved to not have a family, not her and if she really wanted to get to Jason, she would and knowing that he was all the family I had left she'd gladly move on to draining my friends. I was tempted to tell her to kiss my ass because all of my friends are already dead… But it's not true. There are a few humans left I still care about."

"How did she have access to a phone?" She should've been on a silver rack somewhere.

"I don't know. I called Jason… He's on his way here. I thought I should tell him in person about Hadley's crap since she threatened to hurt him and all." No sooner than I had the thought that it was impractical for Sookie to summon her brother from Bon Temps to share family gossip, I realized that she was most likely becoming homesick. I couldn't be sure without asking plainly, but I doubted she'd ever done much traveling. I was sure she'd never been away from 'home' for an entire week.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate getting that news in person. Did you already arrange for a room for him? He might have some fun in the casino while he's here..."

Without warning, Sookie's lips took over mine. If it hadn't been for the fact that she felt grateful, of all things, I might not have been so puzzled as to miss my window of opportunity.

"Not that I'm complaining, Sookie, but what was that about?"

"I was worried that you'd be upset… you know, about another interruption." She couldn't be serious. Her worries weren't centered on threats from a family member, they were specific to my reaction to her brother's invitation.

"Hadn't you already decided that I'm not a monster?"

"Yeah, but you could be annoyed that we'd have another distraction… And it's not that I think you're not a monster. I've seen you be what people assume."

"Then what's the difference?"

"You aren't like that unless you have to be and God knows I don't have any plans to push you to it."

"Are you sure that you aren't scared of me? You have been before."

She pulled away from my neck finally to give me a very solemn look. "I was afraid of a lie, _not you_." Normally, being feared was my end game, but somehow the contradictions Sookie caused were refreshing rather than infuriating. Eventually I'd have to admit to Pam that she'd been right so that she'd lose interest in mocking me about it.

I leaned forward, pulling Sookie closer, adjusting to put her on her back and me… _between those thighs_. "Then why be so careful?"

She eyed me carefully, knowing what I wanted and more than eager to play. "What do you mean?"

I pressed into her, letting down my fangs to tease down her chest. "You're hiding my pussy. You've locked it away in a denim safe."

She giggled and arched her back to combine our efforts in ridding of her shirt. "_Yours_?" Mine.

Her fingers wove into my hair… we watched her nipple draw in as soon as I touched my cool tongue to it. "Just like this is mine."

She tried to look bothered until I moved to her other side. She sighed, "I guess that's yours too, huh?"

She squeaked as I dragged my mouth down the delicious curve of her breast, not at all annoyed that she didn't taste like anything but herself… nectar, honey, sugar, none of them and all of them. "You know it is."

I nibbled down her ribs, leaving hot goosebumps and quiet humming in my wake. "I should be pissed that you're 'claiming me' when there's no one here to prove anything to."

She squirmed, tugging my hair when I began chuckling against her stomach, moving to tease her other side without answering.

"What's so funny?"

I made her wait… inch by satisfying inch, wanting to see the look on her face, but craving just a little more. I'd chewed and groped, nicked her collarbone to steal a taste and her patience didn't run out until I reached her chin. Just a bit longer and she wouldn't have had the chance to repeat her question.

"What's. So. Funny?"

I pushed against the regrettably present denim barrier between us, enjoying the way her eyes lost focus from the friction to speak against her lips. "I'm not proving a point, Sookie… Since you aren't arguing, I think you are."

I waited. Her face was a lock. Her legs didn't move from their twist around mine. Her hands didn't release my hair. It was the bond that gave her away. She was feeling a strange breed of acquiescence… more along the lines of nonresistance than surrender. Her stubborn streak made her jaw clench, refusing to confirm anything.

As beautiful as my silent victory was, I wanted more. I knew pushing her could piss her off, but that would be fun too. "Who do you belong to?"

"Eric, I'm gonna…" I snorted, cutting off her would be 'threat' to kick my ass and leaving her with a surprised expression.

I arched away from her just enough to start opening her shorts, wedging my hand in, grazing her clit, sliding my fingers into her while she tried to muster some anger for the triumphant smirk that I wasn't bothering to resist. "Who else makes you wet, Sookie?"

Her hips tried to rise to me on their own. She bit her lip and whimpered, "No one." Mine.

I drew a slow line from her chin to her ear, teeth and tongue, making her shudder under me. "Who else do you dream about?"

She rubbed her cheek against mine, trying to pull me closer with her legs. I'd half expected her to be livid, but her symbiotic mood put a pounding need into my cock. "No one." Mine.

Lust laced sweat began dewing on her shoulder as she rocked her hips as much as I let her… "Who else gets to touch you, Sookie?"

She lifted her head just enough to bite my shoulder. She was trying to push me and it was working, but it only made me more determined. "No one." Mine.

I slowed my fingers, but started moving my thumb over her clit tighter, faster… she gasped, arching her back away from the bed.

I was high on what I could do to her…

Drunk on the way desire smelled wafting from her…

On a collision course for my own breaking point…

Bringing her close, all but nudging her to the fine line, the threshold of how much she could take before she came…

Taking away her control… robbing her of her shell, her ability to pretend… and all the lies she told herself…

Laying in wait, poised to strike…

Feeling the slightest force around my fingers, I retreated slowly… _painfully_…

For both of us.

I sat back, resting on my knees to bring her legs up and peel her shorts away as carefully as I could. I wanted to see them again… soon.

Swimming in the dazed stare she gave me while I worked…

Taking my time to bite along her thigh on my way to where my entire body ached to be…

One long lick brought her hands back to my hair…

The way she squealed when her clit pulsed against my tongue…

She was holding on like she was afraid to die if she let go…

Pinning her legs back to calm her squirming…

And leaving her with nothing but expectation at her threshold… Panting my name and 'please' in scattered, random bursts as though they were interchangeable.

The way she moaned when she tasted herself on my mouth was almost enough to make me forget our discussion…

But it was the guttural, primal growl when I pushed into her that anchored me.

I waited to enjoy the perfect feeling… that precious pop, that sudden give when the head of my cock locked behind her deeper curve.

She felt a splinter of panic when I stopped, looking between us and lifting her hips, wanting me to keep going…

Needy…

Greedy…

Exactly where I wanted her… "Who else makes you beg?"

She lifted again, but I matched her shift to keep her from getting what she wanted on her own and repeated the question. "No one, Eric, I…" Mine.

The rest of her words were replaced with a deep groan trapped behind her bit lip when I shoved into her…

She let go of my hair to claw the sheets…

Slamming…

Pounding…

Going back to my haunches, but holding her thighs to my chest for want of her heat…

Fucking past her limits, holding back until she'd cum and cried in cycles… until her pulse hammering in her neck caught my attention one too many times.

The first taste, the tiny flash of her blood was my undoing.

As soon as my back touched the mattress, Sookie rolled to my side. Trembling, practically vibrating as she curled her arm and leg over me.

I swept a lock of hair from her face, about to ask her who she belonged to…

My mouth had barely opened when she lifted her chin to narrow her eyes. She grinned and whispered, "You."

And then the feisty little brat punched my ribs.


	16. Chapter 16

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 16**

**Sensory Change**

In all of the insanity that Sookie had dealt with over the course of her day, she still remembered my shirt.

I chuckled when I first saw it on the bathroom counter because she'd folded it carefully and placed it in a plastic bag in an effort to seal in its fragrance.

I'd doubted the bag would do anything but make the shirt smell of plastic… but her idea worked.

Genius. It worked well enough that as I pensively cracked open the lip of the bag expecting the faintest of traces, I was greeted with a concentration so thick, so powerful that I could've closed my eyes and fooled myself into thinking I was with Sookie poolside.

My Sookie had, indeed, figured out a way to bottle the sun for me.

Sookie stood in the doorway of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel after our shower waiting to find out if she'd been successful…

I hadn't needed to say anything. My eyes still hadn't left my shirt when she left me to go dress.

Sookie's dress for the evening almost made me feel guilty for what Pam would be rising to since she was the one to have found it. The same pale blue as Sookie's eyes. Low cut enough, front and back that it was close enough to being backless. The short skirt was made of layers of chiffon so, in theory, it was see-through…

Delicious from every angle.

Paulette was waiting to greet us at the bar when we left our room, but the witch's 'hey there' was interrupted by a foul mouthed explosion that leaked into the living room from behind Pam's door.

Paulette pointed at Sookie. "_I freaking told you_… you don't mess with resting vampires." Sookie was so 'worried' that she succumbed to a giggling fit and crashed into my side.

She'd barely recovered when the door to the suite crashed open and two very ready Saxon's were standing in the space waiting for a cue of some kind. Half dressed, but still ready for battle. Herveaux was right behind them, but rather than being alarmed, he sat on the barstool next to Paulette and leaned back to wait for the show.

The six of us stood in the living room watching the door. After a few minutes, Herveaux explained to the Berts what was going on. I could feel Pam moving around in her room, but I was ignoring her feelings so that they wouldn't ruin my mood. After all, I was wearing a marvelously sun-kissed shirt, I'd enjoyed the laugh of a century and 'owned' my own personal Sookie. I couldn't bring myself to think about the news waiting for me when I rose, much less care.

In our anticipation of Pam's reaction, none of us noticed that someone had made their way down the hallway to our suite. Jason Stackhouse had arrived.

"Damn Paulette, you put enough juice in this ward? You're killin' me. Lemme in."

She smiled at him and left the barstool to issue his invitation. "You quit that whining, Jason. How've you been?"

He kissed her cheek. "Bored as hell. I should just follow y'all around to get my excitement. Cable just ain't doin' it for me anymore now that I been to New Orleans with vampires, witches and weres. What's goin' on?"

She giggled, "Your sister punked Pam while she was dead. I just learned how to say 'you'll get yours' in 5 languages, I think. She hasn't come out of her room yet." It was actually 7 languages, but who's counting?

He snorted and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Hang on, lemme dig out my surprised face… _Sookie? Stirring shit up? Nawwww_."

The rest of us were amused, but Sookie stuck her tongue out at her brother.

After saying 'wow, y'all look nice' to Sookie and me and acknowledging the Berts, Jason walked over to Herveaux with his hand out. "So uh, you're the… '_piece of shit, mother fuckin', asshole, sum'bitch, junk yard guard dog'_… Alcide, right?"

Herveaux shook his hand, but he wasn't amused. "I guess so."

"I don't know what you did to Sam Merlotte, but he loves the shit out of you enough to have your baby."

The wolf cracked a smile, but Sookie scowled at him. "Alcide! He should've left a couple hours ago. What did you do?"

His eyes shifted while his smile widened.

"Alcide."

"I didn't do anything you wouldn't expect from a _junkyard guard dog_."

"What. Did. You. Do?"

"I may or may not have had his truck filled with French fries." Getting a raise. A big raise.

Sookie glared at him. I was the only one who knew she was almost as amused as the rest of us.

I put my hand in the small of her back and took over the conversation. "Berts you're free to go finish dressing…" They looked down to realize they were still barefoot with open shirts and gave a nod before they left. "The rest of us have things to do. Sookie, why don't you have your talk with Jason while you show him where he's sleeping tonight. I'm going to take care of things with Paulette…"

"Alcide was mean to Sam all day AND had his truck filled with greasy food and…"

"And. I'll. Take. Care. Of. It."

Before she could say anything else, Jason grabbed her hand and yanked her towards the door, reminding her that she'd probably done much worse to Pam.

As soon as the door closed behind them so that Sookie could show Jason to Maria-Star's former room, I turned to Herveaux.

"French fries were inspired. Very well done. Thank you."

"My pleasure… That guy is a piece of work. I swear, if he called telepathy a 'disability' one more time, I'd have had **him** deep fried. Dick."

I sat across from Paulette who was eagerly waiting with her supplies to charm Sookie's ring. When I held my hand over the bar, she winced as she pricked my finger and I chuckled at her just like I had the last time. "Sookie called it a disability herself. It used to be quite the hindrance in her more human life."

He nodded. "_She told me…_ Definitely not a choice ability considering all the downsides. She joked that she's pissed about being able to hear weres now… Merlotte used to be the most quiet she could get." But now she had me.

As Paulette toiled, she added, "Maybe telepathy isn't as rare as everybody thinks… There might just be a high suicide rate. If Sookie hadn't had her Gran to remind her that she wasn't crazy…"

Herveaux interrupted by clearing his throat to agree with her, but the way he was acting didn't bode well.

"What?" The first thing that came to mind was that Sookie had shared that she'd been suicidal at some point in her life. Having been told about her own mother's feelings about Sookie's gift, I wouldn't have doubted it.

He squirmed and eyed Paulette. "Um… _hypothetically speaking_… it would be the only reason a telepath would get involved with vampires…" He waited a beat for Paulette's attention to be elsewhere before he mouthed 'Michelle'. "…I mean, with all the things it would keep them from enjoying that normal folks can do… I'd probably have a plan and everything." There wasn't any wonder left as to why Michelle would be willing to sign a contract with Salome after I warned her to establish an exit strategy. Suicide wasn't exactly the exit strategy I had in mind, but if she'd already been thinking of killing herself, she really didn't have anything to lose. It also explained why Sookie was so eager to lead Michelle into the service of vampires… being useful rather than being a self-classed pariah was definitely an upgrade.

The subject needed to be changed before Paulette realized we weren't speaking generally. "Other than being predictably annoying, is there anything else that I should know about Merlotte's visit?"

"Sookie tell you that he was all kinds of pissed that you had her 'locked in a cage' until 2? He wanted to save her from you. Offered to hide her and everything. _Ain't he just the sweetest_?" A real angel.

"Oh really?"

"I tried to get a picture of the look on his face when she said y'all are bonded. It came out blurry."

"You could describe it though." Paulette giggled while she worked and called us 'bad'.

"It looked like it was going to cave in or turn inside out or some shit. He grumbled about her being tied up in 'this shit', promised to help her with money if that's why she was here, told her he knew some people who would take her in if she wanted to hide out… _That girl_… she told him, 'If I wanted to hide from Eric, I wouldn't have bonded with him'. Bam! She might as well have shot him… Then he started in and told her she might as well become a vampire because she'd never get away from you… called her a moron… He really got under her skin when he brought up her grandmother… he tried 'What would your Gran think about all this?'… I'm surprised his leg isn't broken as hard as she kicked him."

"Sounds like a lovely visit."

"I got an excuse to punch the fucker, so… _I'm cool_."

"Sookie mentioned it… how long was he choking?"

"Choking? _You mean when I hit his throat?_ Oh… that was just a love tap. He was fine in a few minutes. He grabbed her in the lobby on our way through. Probably took Sydney a while to get his blood up."

"He grabbed her?"

"By the wrist… he wasn't trying to go anywhere with her or anything. Scared the shit out of him when he saw two fists flying at him. She got his mouth. I got his nose." I should've been infuriated that she'd left that little detail out of our conversation, but… she hit him just for touching her.

Details. "She hit Merlotte too?"

"He was still nagging about how she wasn't safe. She told him that she'd done just fine without having a father so far and that if he wanted a starring role in her life he should've done something before he locked himself in the friend zone. He grabbed. We swung. Cue applause. Clean up on aisle 2. She told him to go clean himself up and when he met up with her at the pool, somebody had learned to be a good boy except for eyefucking every inch of her body… but that turned out to be him looking for bite marks…" He shrugged. "…How was I supposed to know? _I'm not the mind reader_."

"I'm not planning on holding it against you… _other than being jealous_. I don't think Sookie would be as forgiving if I'd been the one to hit him."

"Uhmmmm. Could that be because he wouldn't get up?"

I chuckled, "That's not the point… How did Cooper take to her walking papers?"

"She probably would've been happier about it if she knew. She wasn't in the room when I got back upstairs. I packed her shit, grabbed our keycards, took her bags down to her car and got new cards from Phillip so hers wouldn't work. I'd already called the Colonel and left a note on the door by the time she got back. I don't know where the fuck she was hiding."

"What did the note say?"

"Go the fuck home." _Ahhh, a poet_. I had to appreciate his prose.

"Is there something I should call Flood about?"

"No. He was 4 shades of pissed when I told him that she'd been useless. He's probably still lighting her ass up…"

It was probably the first interesting conversation I'd ever had with a Were, but it was interrupted by Pam.

We'd been waiting. Since her outburst, we'd all been anxious to have some fun with her reaction and Sookie would be upset that she missed it… if there had been one.

Pam left her room and crossed the commons to sit next to me at the bar… without a word, she set about the task of painting, rather _**RE**__painting_ her nails.

Her moods weren't offering any help on the matter. She was in as blasé of a mood as I would expect if she were checking IDs at the door to Fangtasia.

"Pam?"

"Plotting."

"You seem to be taking things better than I expected."

"Are there pictures?"

"Just on my phone."

"Are you going to order me to not retaliate?"

"No. As a matter of fact, Sookie asked me not to. I think she's getting cagey and looking forward to your return."

"Good."

"Pam…"

"I won't hurt her."

"I know that. I was just going to say that the mud mask did wonders for your…"

She interrupted by hissing at me… But the corners of her mouth turned up to give her away when the rest of us laughed.

"I should warn you…"

"I said I wouldn't hurt her…"

"She said she already has another prank lined up."

"You're just going to let us go at it, aren't you?"

"Of course. I'll get all of the enjoyment without any effort of fucking with you myself." I leaned over and kissed her forehead.

When I sat back, her eyes were glazed over slightly. "You smell divine."

"Yes, I know."

"Cocky prick." Paulette and Herveaux laughed at her bitter little snipe.

"And your point would be what?"

"Just thinking out loud." Then she stuck her tongue out at me.

Pam scowled in silence, but it was all a façade. She was as impressed with Sookie's imagination as I'd been.

After a few minutes, Paulette took a phone call from her brother. I had a feeling that I knew what it was about, but held judgment… I held it for all of two seconds after her bedroom door closed behind her and she squealed my name at a deafening pitch. Her car must've arrived.

She ran back to the commons from her room. "Why!?"

"The rings weren't in your job description. Consider it a thank you."

"You can't be serious!"

"Can you imagine how much peace of mind your charms give me? You should be appalled that I low balled you."

"No! A Range Rover isn't a 'thank you'! Flowers, a gift basket! That's a 'thank you'!"

"You could send it back, but I think it would be useful in your new job."

"What new job?"

"The one that pays three times as much as the one you have now and comes with a house big enough for your family…" I heard her brother telling her to 'take it' through the receiver that was now at her hip. "…Of course, I wouldn't expect your casting ability to be used for anything that you find distasteful and your brother would have his choice of jobs. I have three companies for him to choose from as a welder. There'd be no magical pressure for him either."

"_Take it. Take it, Paulette. Take it. Paulette! __**PAULETTE!"**_

Pam, Herveaux and I laughed at her brother's persistence, but Paulette hadn't heard him, so I nodded towards her phone.

"Porter?"

"Don't be an idiot. Take the damn job. You'd be brain dead not to."

"Porter, moving is…"

"Screw that. I've applied for jobs as far away as Florida. If you have to move, you have to move. That pot was too sweet for you to pass up before he offered me a job. Take it."

"Are you sure? You should talk to Maggie about it…"

"Ok. Hang on…" We waited for a moment, shameless spectators that we were. Pam joked that it made up for missing Big Brother.

"_Hey, Mags?"  
"Yeah, sweetie?"  
"Paulette's on the phone… She got offered a promotion, but she needs to move to take it…"  
"You're kidding!"  
"Heart attack serious."  
"Well… with her out of town does she want us to help pack or…"_

Porter put the phone back to his ear. "See. Take the damn job."

She snickered, shaking her head. "I'll talk to you later. K?"

"Not if you don't take the job. I might give you the silent treatment for being a bonehead."

She hung up on him and put her hands on her hips. "I guess you have yourself a witch, Sheriff Northman."

"Wonderful… You should talk to the resident Telepath to get all of the good gossip."

She giggled. "I'll do that… I'm just going… to go to my room… so I can freak out… in private for a few minutes."

"Take all the time you need. You aren't on the clock."

With the door closed behind her, Pam started smiling. "Sookie?"

I nodded. "I didn't know that Paulette was helping to support her unemployed brother's family. The rings made for one hell of a tie in, yes?"

"Hell yes. Can I fire Bobby?"

"No. I did it last night."

"You called him last night? Before you knew if Paulette would accept?"

"I emailed to inform him that his services were no longer necessary and it didn't matter if Paulette took the job yet or not. He needed replacing."

"Oh, right. I'd almost forgotten about that…"

The sound of Herveaux's cell phone ringing reminded us that he was in the room and, admittedly, there was something suspect about the way Pam and I turned to look at him.

"Ooooh, is there a Range Rover for me too?"

I chuckled, "Funny, but no."

He left his seat and went to the hallway to take his call.

When Pam looked to me, I shrugged. "Coincidence."

After hearing Herveaux yell 'what?' in the distance, Pam snorted and sang about my pants being on fire. I really had no fucking clue what was happening that time.

When he returned, he wore a sour expression to go with the foul mood he was practically encased in.

"I told you there was no Range Rover." I wasn't interested in ruining my mood by proxy. Even Merlotte and Sookie's ill-behaved cousin hadn't undone the highs I'd already had for the evening. Pam's prank, the deed to Sookie, _**my shirt**_ and a new assistant.

He huffed and slammed himself onto the barstool. "Family bullshit."

"Is working for a vampire causing said bullshit?"

"No. My father is."

"His gambling addiction?"

His eyes widened. "You know about…? How…?"

"I have ways of gathering information." Such as having very detailed conversations with _myself_. Pam laughed through her nose.

"Yeah… well, he's run up a marker I didn't know about. He just got his ass handed to him by some Vampires with Mississippi tags."

"Who called you?"

"A friend from the pack. It happened outside of Flood's house. When he drove up, they bolted too fast for him to get an eye on them. Just tags."

"What do you know then?"

"Nothing other than they worked him over pretty well. Dad isn't talking."

"So you aren't sure that it's a gambling debt."

"I'm not sure that the moon isn't made of blue fucking cheese either. Call it an educated guess."

"Fair enough. Call him directly and make sure he wasn't given a message for me."

"Why?"

"Because the king of Mississippi might be less patient for Sookie's assistance than he lets on."

"Fuuuuuuck… you're kidding… How would they know? Here's one, why the fuck would they think you'd care if my father got his ass beat?"

"They_ shouldn't_ think I'd care. Call your father to eliminate wasting energy." There were a thousand possible options. Including leveraging Sookie's guard to kidnap her to Jackson during the day to 'save his father'.

He growled and dug for his phone. "This is wonderful. He's with the Colonel… I doubt he'll say anything in front of him."

I raised an eyebrow and reached for my phone. "That makes things easier…"

"What are you… He won't talk to you any faster that he will me."

The phone was already ringing. "We'll see about that…"

"Northman, I think I have enough fangs to deal with tonight." His manners weren't usually so impaired. I supposed that having someone pummeled on his lawn put the old dog in a pissy mood.

"Herveaux is with you?"

"One of them. You have the other."

"I want to know who he owes and how much."

"What?"

"My Herveaux is better behaved than yours and at the moment, your Herveaux is likely to have been beaten for a gambling debt. If not there are other things that could be the cause and I'd need to get a handle on them quickly."

"Like what?" _Petulant mutt._

"At the moment, since all we know is that Papa Herveaux was beaten by Vampires from Mississippi and Edgington is eager for Sookie's services, he could be trying to bump his place in queue by creating a problem. It's also entirely possible that they were after you. It did happen at your home."

"I'm just going to let him talk to you."

"Fine. Stay close."

"Yeah…" Flood ordered Herveaux to cooperate with me as he handed over the phone. "_Whatever you do, don't piss __**that**__ mother fucker off."_

The noise Alcide's father made as he took the phone was something of a growl/groan hybrid. "What?"

Herveaux junior rolled his eyes and warned me that his father was a 'bigger stubborn ass than Sookie'. I smiled when I tried to think how that was at all possible.

"Jackson Herveaux, who are you in debt to now?"

"That's none of your…" The sudden deep growl wasn't his own… Flood was reminding him to play nice. "Lucy Swerenger. She owns a few riverboats."

"Did the vampires you wrestled with identify themselves as her thugs?"

"Yeah." Good. At least there wasn't more for us to deal with.

"How much?"

"Not as much as I owe you."

I laughed at him. Some assholes could still surprise me with how ignorant they could be. "Obviously. This is just a suggestion for your future reference; don't owe poor people. They tend to be less patient about repayment. Do you at least owe her as much as the vig on my marker?"

"No."

I rolled my eyes out of the sheer frustration of it all. "Herveaux. How much do you owe Lucy Swerenger?"

"Thirty grand."

"Other than the balance you owe me, is she it?"

"Isn't that enough?"

"You're a pain in the ass. Are we it?"

"Yes. Go fuck yourself."

"I could do that. Or I could take care of Lucy so that your daughter isn't the next visit on her thugs' list."

"What?"

"She wouldn't have loaned a dime to you if she didn't know everything about you. The next warning you get from them will hurt in a whole new way."

"What do you want?"

"Your business." Alcide fidgeted so I winked at him. It only made him more anxious. I almost laughed.

"You're going to call in my marker and hers at the same time?"

"No. In case you haven't heard, Fangtasia is suffering some technical difficulties. When I return to my area, I'll need somewhere to hold meetings. I'll need the use of an office and your waiting area after hours."

"That's all? For how long?"

"We haven't decided if or when we're going to rebuild, but to be frank, since you owe me six figures you aren't exactly in a position to argue about anything. While we share space, I'll put a hold on the vig and deduct $5000 from your marker every month." When Alcide heard that his father owed so much, a hard scowl set on his face and he clenched his jaw.

His father was still contemplating my offer when Alcide leaned towards my phone. "Dad, if you don't take that offer, I'll. Cripple. You. Don't let something happen to Janice because of this shit."

The father growled, "Ten thousand a month…"

"Three."

"What? You offered 5."

"And you're wasting my fucking time, wolf. You're as adept in a negotiation as you are with a deck of cards. I can make arrangements to hold my meetings _anywhere_. "

"Fine. Five."

"Four it is then. It's a pleasure doing business with you. My assistant will contact you about getting copies of your keys. Put Flood back on."

While I waited for Flood to take the phone back from his stammering pack-mate, Alcide slumped on his seat. He looked just about as relieved as possible.

"Yeah?"

"Flood. You understand the arrangement between Jackson Herveaux and myself?"

"It's more than a 'gentleman's agreement'. I'm sure when the shock of the attack wears off, Jax'll be more appreciative." Like I cared. If it weren't for knowing that the unlucky bastard's son was the best of all known options when it came to Sookie's daytime safety, I wouldn't waste my battery life on the call. Herveaux could continue to be 'reminded' of his markers. Charity wasn't a factor. Pragmatism was.

"Do your friend a favor. Do your best to keep him the fuck out of _human_ casinos."

"You'd rather he owed you money?"

"No. In case you haven't gathered, I'm a little annoyed at the extra effort it takes to be repaid. By the end of the night, he won't be able to play as much as slots at any supe run establishment. I'm putting the word out." When Pam pushed her purse over to me, I rolled my eyes and took her phone out to spare her from having to re-repolish her nails. She laid her phone on the bar and proceeded to use her knuckles to punch the keys to send out her 'Blackball Alert'. _Then rewarded herself by smelling my sleeve._

"Why?"

"Because I haven't killed nearly enough people this week. I feel like throwing my weight around."

He started laughing. "Slim pickings in the Red Stick?"

"You could say that. Call me if Herveaux has any more trouble."

"Sure thing."

Before Alcide had the chance to do anything but gape, I held my finger up to stop him and dialed my phone _again_. It was a very good thing Sookie had thought to charge the battery.

"Eric? Eric Northman? Is that you?" Lucy Swerenger, apple polisher.

"Yes."

"Well, I do declare, to what do I owe the honor…"

"I'm not in the mood for you and your voice hasn't changed from the last time I told you it was like nails on a chalkboard. The '_southern gentility'_ only makes things worse since I know you spent the first half of your existence in Asia." Alcide tensed again, no doubt concerned that I'd be so abrasive toward someone I wanted a favor from because he didn't know that I was the one granting a favor.

"You seem troubled. I heard about your loss. What can I do for you?"

"The debt you owe…"

"I'm sure we can come to an agreement. Do you need help rebuilding Fangtasia?"

Pam snorted 'stupid cow' and I couldn't have said it better myself.

"Lucy. Explain why it is that you set your stooges loose in MY fucking area with the sole purpose of assaulting one of the Weres belonging to my associate, Packmaster Flood."

"He… he was late on repayment."

"Again. Why couldn't you be bothered to inform me of your intention to conduct business in my area?"

"I… I didn't want to bother you… Since Fangtasia was bombed…"

"Of course. How very considerate of you. I was just telling Pam that it couldn't possibly be that the mice were taking advantage of the cat being away."

"No! No… no. That's not it. Eric, _I wouldn't_ _dream_…" Pam's 'silent' laughter made the conversation more enjoyable. Stammering vampires were hysterical.

"Good. I'm buying Jackson Herveaux's debt from you. Deduct it from what you owe to me. If you or your thugs go near him, his family or his property again, heads will roll. Tell me you understand."

"But…"

"Say that you understand so that I don't cripple your finances by scuttling your little poker barges."

"I understand, but…"

I disconnected the call and set my phone on the bar. "Done. Now is there anything else that wants to try to irritate me?"

Pam started to laugh as she reached over to pinch the sleeve of my shirt. I let her lift my arm to my nose. "I think we might finally be figuring out why humans go on about _deep… calming… breaths_."

Since Alcide overheard every word of the negotiations, no explanation was necessary… Unfortunately, the free-flowing gratitude that he began to spew was beginning to approach the territory of uncomfortable by the time Sookie returned with her brother.

The ring that I was extremely pleased with had been placed back in its box and set in the middle of the bar. Sookie eyed it as though she was waiting for it to do a trick while she served Herveaux and her brother a beer and took a can of Red Bull for herself… When she noticed that I was watching her, she pointed to Alcide to have him confirm her promise that it was her first one of the day.

She took a few sips while continuing to stare at the box while Pam became amused enough that she was close to squirming. I'd be lying if I said Sookie's preoccupation wasn't entertaining as a minimum.

She finally looked at me. "If you don't want me to know until you give it to me, you're gonna want to expedite things. I can't promise that I'm going to stay out of folk's heads."

"Would you be such a brat?"

"You know I would."

"What if I _commanded_ you not to?"

She sucked air past her teeth with a coy grin. "Would you be so mean?"

"Maybe…." She looked up with big doe eyes and a pouty lip. It was working. I wasn't about to make her wait for long. She _was_ the last of us to get her ring and it had been her inspired idea to begin with, but I did want to tease her.

I was about to give in, push the ring box towards her, when Michelle arrived.

The 'newbie mind reader' had barely been introduced to Jason when he pegged her as a telepath. There was 'something about' her. Being able to sense a difference made Alcide ask if there was something different about him or vampires…

While Michelle worried that she was too exposed by suddenly being around supernaturals, Jason explained that there _**was**_ a difference… He could see vampires' distinction. Because Compton was the first vampire he'd met, Jason thought that 'the douche' just needed to get some sun because he seemed to glow in the dark, but once he met more vampires, he realized that we all 'glow'… Weres were different in that even when they were sitting perfectly still, they seemed to be 'hyper, tight like a spring'… Paulette stood apart because he had a physical reaction to her. He compared it to the feeling he gets when he realized that he'd leaned back too far in a chair just before he started to fall. Dolt. The train of thought led him to ask about the Cataliades family and 'that Phillip cat' who checked him in… They all smelled like 'hot rocks'… Not only did Sookie agree with him along the way, but so did Michelle… Considering that we knew the Stackhouses' Fae heritage was watered down by a few generations, all of us were curious as to how they all had such a keen sense of other supernaturals.

We didn't get to think about it for long though.

The conversation ended when Salome arrived with Owen, more importantly, _without Mickey_. Paulette and Jason took Michelle to Paulette's room so that she could wait in private to find out about her contract.

Salome was positively giddy while I read through the contract. She'd used the one I'd sent to her for Sookie's services as a template and simply adjusted rates and added vacation time and the section outlining the methods of keeping Michelle's anonymity. The contract was written for a precursory one month term with an addendum to extend the contract to one year. Michelle would be paid $10,000 upon signing, $50,000 upon extending and an additional $5,000 per month including full health benefits…

While I acted as Michelle's manager, Sookie explained to Salome how to contact her missing vampires and the mystery had been solved with one phone call.

When I joined Michelle in Paulette's room and explained her contract line by line, she cried… She explained that she'd been struggling to make ends meet while hiding her ability for most of her life… in retrospect, it 'burned a little' to know that she could've been comfortable all along.

Owen was to be one of the four staff members who would know about Michelle's actual purpose so he was made aware the he was in our suite to meet the 'mystery mind reader'… Seeing that he'd already met her, he looked like he was kicking himself. He actually joked while she was signing that he'd noticed 'something different' about her since he'd been working so closely with Sookie, but he reassured her that it wasn't something obvious.

Sookie's mood was too light, as though she hadn't been plagued by a frustrating, if not disappointing day… I can't say I was disappointed. She was very pleased with herself for helping Michelle, rightfully so.

She cleared her throat as she opened another Red Bull. "So, I was thinking… The vandalisms that we were concerned about were just disgruntled employees. The missing vampires weren't in danger, just in hiding. We know about the Fellowship's plans to burn a vampire and the problematic fundraising they're doing… Maybe we should move on to the next area? I mean, the big stuff is taken care of and the little stuff isn't any different that it was before… Now that Salome has her own telepath on staff, maybe we should think about the next job… I can spend tonight with Michele, giving her tips and whatnot... We can head out at sunset tomorrow… I'm sure Eric needs to deal with some of the fallout of Fangtasia being bombed too."

I nodded. "I need to sit down with the fire inspector and insurance adjuster as a minimum." I was grateful that she brought it up.

Salome gave a sigh. "I do wish I had the cooperation of the packs here, but I suppose it's just greedy to keep you all to myself when there are other areas in need of your help."

Sookie smiled at her. "Once things settle down, I can come back for clinics since Michelle is staying incognito… But… why don't you call your packmasters? Have them come in tonight before it gets too late. I'll mediate. They might distrust me less because I'm human… well, to be more specific, not a vampire."

"You wouldn't mind? I mean you certainly seem to have a way with…" Salome paused to nod towards Alcide. "Well, you seem to have a way with _everyone_."

Sookie gave her a very bright smile. "Everyone but humans. And of course I don't mind. I'm all about keeping the peace."

Before we left our suite, Sookie 'tried Owen on for size' so that she would know what Michelle was dealing with. Since he wasn't quite 150 years old yet, his mind wasn't nearly as much help in comparison to mine, but Michelle didn't have my mind to judge against it. Sookie took my hand and dropped her shields, inviting Michelle into her mind so that she could 'see' how Sookie uses her ability. While Sookie's eyes were closed, she repeated the thoughts of the few people on the floor immediately beneath ours while Michelle gaped… She compared her own ability to a dragnet because she caught too many thoughts to be able to decipher them all when she was in crowds. But Sookie's ability was a heat seeking missile… Sookie could search out any mind she chose. With Owen's 'help' Michelle was able to hear a few scattered thoughts from Alcide as well.

Sookie explained that her ability wasn't much stronger until she started 'stretching her legs' and that she noticed the biggest difference when she was given vampire blood. Owen offered to provide some. Not his own, of course, but security at the hotel routinely found people with recreational amounts and they just destroyed it. Michelle said that she'd think about it, but she wanted to see what 'exercise' would do for her first.

With Jason, Pam and Alcide in tow, the telepaths and their respective vampires went to Shed first.

While Sookie and Michelle sat in a loaded silence, I called Andre.

"Northman, I know for a fact that Hadley isn't causing any trouble tonight. She's under lock and key."

"That's not why I'm calling, but if that were the case, she wouldn't have access to the phone she used to call My Sookie and make threats today."

"She called Miss Stackhouse?"

"And threatened to harm and/or drain Jason Stackhouse as well as Sookie's friends. It seems that Hadley feels as though Sookie is at fault for the punishment she's receiving for her own poor choices."

The uncomfortable silence he answered me with was ended by the sound of a loud crack followed by a crash and a whimper. Knowing that Hadley had been in arm's reach, made me understand the appeal of tattling. "I'll see to the matter myself then. What was your reason for calling if not to report the threat?"

"We feel as though Sookie's services have exceeded their need here in Baton Rouge. I was calling to let you know that we'll be returning to Shreveport tomorrow evening and to ask if the Queen has a preference as to where Sookie ventures next. If the Queen has no reason to argue, I think that Sookie's ability might be valuable to Stan Davis in Dallas since it's the headquarters for the Fellowship."

"Miss Stackhouse has remedied the problems plaguing the casino so quickly?"

"Most of them within hours of arriving… The vandalisms were committed by insolent employees. The picketing was halted because Sookie threatened the local police with a vampire civil rights fueled protest. The missing vampires were just in hiding…"

"Cowards."

"My thoughts exactly. Sookie discovered a couple of Weres who were gathering information for Arkansas. They've been taken care of and there seems to be a bounty on the head of any vampire issued by _Reverend_ Newlin. He intends to televise a vampire going up at dawn. Sookie has read nearly 400 pets and donors and found a fellow telepath for Salome's use."

"She found another telepath?"

"The new mind reader doesn't have the strength Sookie does. Salome has her under contract for the sole purpose of additional security. She has no talent for Weres…"

"How much weaker is she?"

"While Sookie found Hadley several floors away from us in a closed room, the new telepath found 30 feet of open space and only 3 readable minds difficult."

"I'll inform the Queen." I was surprised that Salome hadn't already given them some sort of account of Michelle's being.

"Thank you for passing that along. She's hopeful that with practice, she'll get stronger as Sookie did."

"Having two telepaths in the kingdom is remarkable enough… To the best of my knowledge, Gervaise and Cleo aren't reporting anything out of the ordinary. I'll ask the Queen if she prefers that Sookie goes to Mississippi before Dallas as a diplomacy measure, but given what I know, Dallas sounds more emergent. Every pet in the area is likely a Fellow." In his millennium as Sophie-Ann's lackey, he'd forgotten that some of us had survived without a petticoat to cling to. Having him agree with my approach wasn't any form of compliment.

"If you would, let me know as soon as possible so I can call either about arrangements. We'll be traveling and doing meetings tomorrow and Friday. We'll be available to Edgington or Davis on Sunday."

"Will you need to appoint someone to stand in for you?"

"No. I'm going to leave my Area's emergencies to Colonel Flood." Alcide had been discussing baseball statistics with Jason until he'd heard me. His eyes bulged.

"You're leaving your area to a Were?"

"Most of the squabbling and nonsense comes to me as calls and emails. Colonel Flood can be trusted to handle matters with decorum until Pam or I can return for anything more pressing."

"That's unprecedented to say the least… but it's your choice since you have to manage affairs if you're wrong. Have you found full time security for Miss Stackhouse yet? I'm still hoping you'll take my offer of Quinn." Alcide offered a sickened snarl as he shook his head. I should've been annoyed that he was eavesdropping, but I was too amused at his reaction to the tiger's mention.

"For now. You can keep your tiger. Flood provided a very able Were for Sookie's security. He's working out quite well."

"Very well. I'll have to wait to find another excuse to be rid of him. I'll be calling you back shortly."

"Thank you."

"You want me to be Sookie's full time guard?" Alcide hadn't waited long enough for me to place my phone back in my pocket.

I nodded. "She hasn't complained about you much…"

He shot a dirty look in her direction. "What did I do?"

She giggled, "Bully."

He pointed at himself. "Uh… body guard… Fine while we're whining, I want to lodge a complaint about her damn bikinis. I spend most of my time growling at hard ons trying to get a piece."

I chuckled when she showed him her 'fuck you' finger. "Put the complaint in writing."

He scowled at Sookie before getting back on track. "Still… I have a job to get back to."

"Since you work for your father, I doubt he'll put you in a position to be searching for permanent employment. Sookie will be doing a lot of traveling for the time being, but once everything settles down, we'll be returning to Shreveport. You can resume working for your father whenever we're in Area 5. You'll be compensated and given per diem, of course."

"Working for you includes protection, right?"

I nodded. It would be a given since letting him die defeated the purpose of hiring him in the first place.

"Extend protection to my sister and her family and I'm in."

"Not your father?"

"My sister needs protection because of him. He's made his bed... He's lucky you intervened as it is." I can't say I was surprised, but he managed to impress me again.

"No Range Rover?"

He chuckled. "My truck is my baby."

"I think we've reached an accord then."

I'd been distracted from Andre's call to tell me that Sophie-Ann was in agreement about Davis's need for Sookie's services by the way Jason kicked his sister to get her attention and point to a donor who was wandering around in Shed. He was 'up to no good'.

Owen, Pam, Alcide and I all watched him and the thin man with sunken eyes didn't seem to be a threat to anything but aesthetics… Until Sookie confirmed quietly, "Drainer. He has a net."

Before anyone could decide how to handle the silver risks, Jason slipped under the table and reappeared on the floor outside of the booth. He walked up behind the man, tapped his shoulder and the man turned only to be greeted by Jason's childlike smile and probably one of the sexiest punches I've ever witnessed.

The drainer went down with a cartoonlike flop as he hit the floor. He didn't show any signs of getting up either… The Berts actually chuckled as they carried him out of the lounge after they congratulated Jason. Somehow they knew what a 'left hook' was. Pam grabbed his ass when he crawled under the table to take his seat back. I'm not sure how he returned the favor, but it made her jump.

Our party crowded around a Blackjack table near the center of the casino with the exceptions of the Berts who were enjoying their 'dinner break'. A pit-boss delivered chips for Sookie and Michelle and returned with mine from the cage. Sookie shared hers with Jason and I rolled my eyes when Pam stole half of mine. Alcide refused to touch 'the damn things'.

While the telepaths worked, I watched Jason Stackhouse amass chips. There was no rhyme or reason to his method. He'd stay on 11, hit with 18, split 6s… he didn't lose a single hand dealt to him even if the dealer did have to explain that he couldn't split a jack and a queen just because they were both worth 10. I might have been joking when I spelled 'rainman' into Sookie's palm, but Jason's instincts were far more than the 'acute' description I'd been given… I'd use the word unequaled. I didn't know how he was doing it. The dealer's tell was a miniscule twitch when he reached for the cards or an equally small pull on the right corner of his mouth, both of which, Pam was missing to the extent of $5000.

I leaned over to Sookie and whispered, "Focus on your brother for a few minutes."

Her lips brushed the rim of my ear when she answered. "What am I listening for?"

"How he hasn't lost a hand yet. I'm curious."

She giggled lightly but it was enough to give me chills. "Spotting the drainer before the rest of us isn't nagging you?"

"That too."

She kissed my earlobe before she sat back and no sooner than she did, Jason gave her a dirty look. "Get out. Cheater." Alcide leaned over Pam to mumble that he couldn't feel it when Sookie read his thoughts as though he was reading mine. I'd never seen anyone else as much as hint that they knew Sookie was doing it.

She giggled at him. "I can't cheat at blackjack by reading your mind. Chill out."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Just curious."

"Fine. Enter at your own risk."

A few minutes went by and Sookie waved a floorman over to point out a couple who was lurking near the slot machines in search of a mugging target… then again, when she found someone with loaded dice at the craps table. He didn't have the right color dice, but he needed to be scared off before he had the chance to use them… and a third time when she found a woman with a purse full of wallets that didn't belong to her.

I leaned over again. "Is the casino too busy to focus on your brother?"

"I found them because of him… I swear, his mind, if he could pass a written test, he'd make a great cop. I don't know how he's doing it, but he can just sense when someone can't be trusted."

Jason grumbled. "Not always. I missed the Rene thing." He barely looked up from stacking his chips.

Alcide leaned over Pam again. "Is it crazy that I think he should go to Dallas too?"

I shook my head. "No. I'm curious…"

Jason interrupted. "I don't think it'll do any good. I spent some time thinking about it. I think I missed what Rene was up to because he really thought he was doing the right thing. Those folks with the church ain't gonna be no different."

"You'd go though? To settle our curiosity?"

Sookie added, "It can't hurt."

Jason laughed. "Can I share a room with Pam?"

Sookie and I were too amused at the way Pam purred that 'something could be arranged'.

A messenger was sent to inform Sookie that the Packmasters were due to arrive at 1am and that someone would be sent to get her when everyone was ready to start the meeting so we stayed where we were except for the suspicious (and simultaneous) departures that Pam and Jason took…

Alcide and the Berts followed as we were led to a high roller lounge to be met by Salome and two Weres, both of them were oozing hostility. Our arrival only seemed to exaggerate their moods.

The taller of all of them was a woman, long dark hair with a stern scowl. "Nice move vampire. We're cornered. What do you want?"

Salome sighed, "Margret, they aren't here to corner you. This is my associate Eric Northman and his pet Sookie Stackhouse. The rest are her guards."

Sookie smiled and offered a little wave that didn't reduce Margaret's suspicions. "Why would she need guards?"

Salome nodded in Sookie's direction to let her explain. "I'm a telepath. I'm working here for Salome to help find the source of some problems…"

"The Fellowship isn't our problem."

"Not yet. What happens when y'all come out? They'll be your problem then… Think about it, they'll petition for 'full moon hunting licenses' and organize hunting parties on any reserve they can find in the name of everything 'holy'… Don't be shitty. You were only invited here to talk."

"I get a late night phone call from a vampire demanding that I come to the casino as a command performance. I'm sorry. I left my manners in my other purse."

"Pea Ridge has been in the area under false pretenses. When they checked in with Travis over there, they said that they were just visiting friends in the area. They were actually sent by Arkansas to take part in Threadgill's attempt to overthrow LeCerq. Do I need to spell out the repercussions of what happens if any of you seem to be sympathetic to another state's spies in a vampire coup? Do I have your attention now?"

"We wouldn't want any parts of that shit. Did they implicate us, our packs?"

Sookie shook her head at the agitated Were. "Of course not. If either of you had been implicated, you'd have been brought here instead of invited. Other than the fact that Travis didn't trust his instincts about those two Weres, y'all aren't being blamed for anything..."

Margaret turned to growl at Travis.

Sookie protested, "Knock it off! You're acting like a child! Salome invited y'all here so that she could ask for some give and take. She wants a little cooperation. A freakin' phone call if y'all get any new Weres from Arkansas interloping."

Travis grumbled, "What is she offering in return?"

"For starters, reciprocal consideration. You need to actually man up and speak directly to the scary vampire in lavender to negotiate, damn wussies." Alcide got a dirty look from the other Weres in the room for chuckling.

Margaret snarled at him, "What's so damn funny?"

His voice boomed, "That Miss Stackhouse is right. You're being uncooperative chicken shits. Salome just wants her vampires to be safe. You can help by giving her a phone call."

"Look, I don't know what kind of fantasy you assholes in Area 5 are living, but down here, we don't get along terribly well with fangs."

Sookie shook her head with a confused look. "Why not?"

Margaret sighed. "Just last month I had one of my wolves nearly killed by a vampire."

"Did you report it?"

"Why would I? She wouldn't do anything!"

Sookie snorted, "Uh… she can't possibly do anything about it if you don't report it." Alcide grumbled 'no shit' in agreement.

Salome raised her eyebrows. "Is he recovering well? Do you know any of the details?"

The bitch snarled, "He's just now getting up without help. Thanks for asking. It was a dispute over some human."

"Romantic or…"

Margaret opened her mouth to answer, but Sookie was faster. "Romantic for the Were. Possessive for the vampire. The woman wanted to be with the Were… Since the Were lost, she's stuck with… Mickey's keeping her against her will. Her name is Iris." Salome visibly cringed at the idea of her child being such a colossal pain in the ass.

She nodded deep enough to surprise the Weres. "My many apologies. I'll immediately see to his medical expenses and his lost wages. The vampire will be barred from contact with either party. Is there anything else you'd like for me to do?"

Margaret looked like she'd been hit. "Just like that?"

"I wasn't made aware so that I could do something sooner. Mickey will be punished more extensively on a private level. He isn't allowed to keep pets."

"Is this just because you want something?"

Salome shook her head. "Nothing more than a working relationship. I'm envious that Sheriff Northman enjoys such reciprocity in Area 5."

Alcide added, "Edgington too. His sheriffs are under orders to play nice with Mississippi packs. Terrence doesn't socialize, but he knows he can go to Edgington… like the Colonel knows he can go to Northman."

Travis snorted and walked towards the doorway. "I'll let you know if anyone checks in with me."

Margaret gasped and called him back. "How can you agree to work with these things?"

"It's not enough that I'd rather get along with someone who can rip me in half?"

She snorted, "No! No, it's not. This is the equivalent of handing over your lunch money before you get wedgied."

"Then how about this… I don't need your permission to have allies. The woman invited us here to ask for a fucking phone call…"

"Did you ask what happened to the Pea Ridge Weres?"

He shrugged. "They're dead. If they aren't they should be, if for no better reason than to take their dumb asses out of the gene pool. Those idiots put themselves in the middle of a plot to overthrow a vampire in power most likely for cash… fuck them and fuck getting caught up in the bullshit… Salome, I'm sure I'll be talking to you closer to the full moon. They have to check in so they can run."

Salome nodded. "Thank you. You have no idea how much I appreciate your assistance."

As Travis left, Mickey entered uninvited. "What's going on?"

Salome lifted her chin. "Where is Iris?"

He gaped at her for only a moment before he turned to Sookie and hissed, somehow blaming her for his idiocy. His first step towards Sookie hadn't landed before the Berts and I formed a wall between them. Sookie's hands rested on my back as she filled with anxiety.

He opened his mouth in protest, but in the small window of time before my fist could form, before Salome could 'call' him… Mickey was yanked back with force.

I watched in awe as Alcide grabbed him by his clothes and dropped to the floor to slam Mickey over his knee. The resounding snap of Mickey's spine shattering and the thump as he limply fell to the floor was bittersweet. Sure I was impressed, sure Mickey deserved it, but I wanted to be the one to do it.

Alcide kicked Mickey in the side of the head when he stood up. "I think your maker asked you a question, bitch."

The only reply Mickey offered was a grunt and some slight twitching.

Sookie ran out from behind us and kicked Alcide's shin on her way to Salome. When Mickey's spine was broken, Salome's knees had buckled. She was sitting on the floor with her hand to her head. Sookie pleaded, "_I'm so sorry…_ I don't think Alcide knew about the connection between makers and children… He never would've…"

Sookie offered her hand, but Salome shook her head. "Don't you dare apologize for him. He was doing his job, impressively at that."

Sookie gave her a morose grin and offered her hand again. "He didn't have to have so much fun though."

Salome gave her a little laugh as her transferred pain eased. "Why not? I would've."

Sookie gave up trying to help her up, not realizing that Salome was only refusing her hand because of propriety, and slid a chair away from the table and left it behind her.

It took Salome a moment, but once she had lifted herself into the chair, Mickey started to writhe and sputter for her to stop. She was using the call to make him regret charging Sookie and it was beautiful. "Don't make me repeat myself, Mickey."

"She's… she's… in my room… she's mine."

Salome shook her head. "No she isn't. You aren't allowed to keep pets. You can't be trusted… Mr. Herveaux, would you mind retrieving the girl so that we can look her over before we release her to Margaret's care? Room 603."

He nodded and left without a word.

The rest of us waited in silence except for Mickey's pained groans. Every time he tried to peal himself from the floor, Salome reminded him to stay there.

Alcide's arrival was announced by the door being kicked open because his hands weren't free.

The girl, Iris, was limp. Alcide was carrying her wrapped in a sheet. Her body was covered in bite marks that weren't healing because she was so anemic. She wasn't conscious… In fact there wasn't a single lively thing about her. Her heartbeat was too faint to think she'd live another week under Mickey's 'care'.

Alcide growled, "There wasn't a stitch of clothes for her in the room. When she saw me, she was so scared she cried, but she's too weak to move." In Mickey's world, there was no excuse. He had a donor pool of his own available to him every night and his maker didn't have a cruel bone in her body.

Salome looked sickened. "Margaret, I would heal her, but she's so close to death that my blood could turn her…"

"That'd be great. Just what we need. Another vampire." At the sight of what Mickey had done, there wasn't a vampire in the room who could take offense.

"I'd like to suggest that you take her to the hospital."

"If I do that, the police will be…"

"Looking for David 'Mickey' McKay. He lives here and will be confined until they arrive with a warrant. Encourage her to press charges without fear of retaliation. Perhaps some time in a silver cage will change his mind about how to treat humans. I've tried everything else."

Margaret's jaw was slack. "You seriously want me to take her to a hospital…"

"I'll take care of the bill myself in addition to anything else you tell me she needs."

"…And you're asking me to turn in your child for blood slavery."

"Yes. I am. I've given him everything I could by way of direction. He's clearly incorrigible." That was one way to handle it. As much as I loved Pam, she wouldn't have seen her 100th birthday if she'd ever been so out of control.

Alcide carried Iris through the service entrance so that her appearance wouldn't startle the customers and guests. Margaret left with a new appreciation for Salome's temperance and agreed to contact her if she smelled anything 'fishy'. The Berts carried Mickey's still partially paralyzed body to Salome's holding area since she was still too weak to do it herself. The 'olive branch' Sookie suggested hadn't been the meeting anyone suspected, but the result had been the same. Salome had started a relationship with her Packmasters.

With everything else out of the way, Sookie and I went through the casino so that she could check on Michelle's progress before we retired to our room for the night. Since we'd left her, she'd found two prostitutes and a waitress who was padding her tips.

The elevator was a welcome sight by the time we were done.

As soon as the doors closed behind us, Sookie grabbed my shirt and pulled me to her… She practically climbed me for a kiss.

The chaos we'd been victim to since we'd left our room might have been a torment, but the sensory change wasn't unwelcome.

Before she had the chance to argue, I lifted her, pinning her to the wall to pull her legs around me.

Had Sookie taken her mouth away from mine, I might have asked what brought on her attack, but after just a few floors, talking was the last thing I wanted to do.

She wedged her hand between us to yank down my zipper and push her hand into my pants…

One squeeze of her hot little fist was all it took to bring my fangs out…

She pulled and rubbed… kissing me like she didn't need to breathe…

And just before the door opened, she slammed her head back against the glass of the elevator with a whimper. Her mood was spoiled so quickly, mine suffered.

"What's wrong?"

"Pam and Jason…" For more than two hours? The idiot was a champion among human men.

"You can 'hear' them from here?"

"And Dana and Misty." He might deserve a trophy.

In a desperate grasp to not completely lose the mood, I started teasing her neck. "They aren't playing backgammon then?"

She panted as she shook her head, but she didn't stop me. She stilled for a moment before she seemed to rebound…

She leaned back to me, pressing her cheek to mine to whimper into my ear while I played…

"Shields?"

She nodded against me. "If I hear them, I'll be screwed though. Any ideas?"

I chuckled against her shoulder, causing a shiver to wrack her whole body and take us both a moment to recover from. "The roof?"

I felt her surrender before she said, "You're the boss."

The hinges on the door to the roof almost didn't survive. The rain had eased but the sky was almost constantly lit with spikes of lightning cutting through the clouds.

I took her to the back of the stand for the stairwell to avoid the security cameras for the landing pad and take advantage of the shelter offered by the overhang, but by the time we had all the privacy we would get, Sookie had unbuttoned my shirt one button and nibble at a time.

I pushed her back into the smooth concrete wall earning a loud hiss as she arched her back away from the cold surface to rub into me.

She clawed for my belt… whimpered against my chest when I pulled her panties away from her…

Kissing me desperately…

Whimpering with my lip trapped between her teeth as I pushed into her…

Everything from my knees to my chest ached…

Every part of her throbbed with the wake of her excited pulse…

Watching the rain cascade over her skin…

She rocked her hips to me…

Tightening her legs around my waist…

Giving in completely like the electricity in the air cured her of her 'sensibilities'…

She was more vocal than before…

Freer without the worry that someone would hear…

Her voice competed with the thunder…

Her body warmed us both to the point that I felt like I was sweating…

And every hot breath she heaved against me only pushed me…

I shoved her face against my chest, wanting her to bite, wanting her to take my blood, wanting more of me to be inside of her…

But she breathlessly pulled away, letting her head fall back, giving her neck to me…

Her legs tightened as her hips rocked into me…

Pulling me deeper…

Her face contorted in agony and need as her body tensed around me…

And I couldn't resist the pounding in her neck any longer…

When I pushed my fangs into her, she all but vibrated…

A long desperate moan escaped her and washed over me as her blood rushed from the wound on her neck like it needed to be consumed…

Her breathing stopped while she came…

Her face flushed to a bright red with her mouth open, ready to release the heated and heavy noises trapped in her throat…

She forced open her eyes, locking them on mine taking my lip between her teeth and biting… just enough to break the skin…

Just a drop, maybe two… It was enough.

As my blood touched her tongue, my body seized under the euphoric wave and the sensation was just enough… just the push I needed…

My knees tried to fold and Sookie winced from my fingers digging into her hips as I came…

And when it was all over, I collapsed into her… It was the only way to not fall over.

_I was panting again._

Once I could, I sat down… Sookie's legs still around me, my cock still tormented by her occasional quakes.

She gave me a worried look while I tried to stop breathing.

Since I didn't know why I was breathing, I didn't want to waste time thinking about it. "What's next?"

"Ummmmmm. You call Stan Davis and I call room service." That wasn't what I meant.

"I was thinking that I'd put you on your knees on the skylight and fuck you until just before dawn."

"You're on crack if you think I don't need a break."

I laughed at her. "Fine. We'll order your dinner and then return to the roof to fuck on the giant window."

She sat back, biting her lip. "You're not going to turn me into some kind of exhibitionist overnight."

"You just fucked me on the roof of a building, Sookie. I think it's too late try to make that claim."

"The tallest building for miles with no witnesses. We might as well have been in our room… The skylight is open all the way down to the lobby."

"You'd have fucked me in the elevator."

"That's different. Our clothes would've been on and you would've been blocking me from being exposed and I still would've been nervous."

"Then I'll lie down on the skylight and you can be on top…"

She narrowed her eyes as she put her feet under her and stood up. I watched her, completely amused, as she took a few unsteady steps and then walked over to the door to the stairwell.

She yanked the knob a few times as panic started to set in. "Eric, we're trapped up here."

I stood, quickly straightening my clothes and by the time I reached her, Sookie was the picture of alarm. I picked her up and lifted us from the rooftop. "What has you so worried that you'd forget I fly?"

She wrapped her arms around my neck and cringed. "Dawn is only a couple hours away."

"You're so worried about dawn that you forget I can 'call' Pam, fly, pull the door from the hinges, use my cell phone…"

"I was stupid. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

I kissed her forehead as I descended to the terrace of the 4th floor's ballroom. We were both soaking wet, so going through the lobby would've been less than discreet "You don't need to worry about me, but I love that you do."

"I love you. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I still want to fuck you on that skylight."

She giggled. "When's your birthday?"

"I don't know. We didn't use the same calendar."

"Pity… That seems like a birthday request to me."

I set her on her feet and opened the door for her. "Did I say I didn't know? I was just joking. Tonight is my birthday."

She giggled, "Nice try."

While Sookie showered in an attempt to drown out the noises coming from Pam and Jason's 'love shack', I called Stan Davis to make arrangements for our Sunday arrival in Dallas and waited for room service's arrival.

Her food was waiting when she joined me, so I finally had the chance to ask her if she had any thoughts on procedures…

Her eyes studied the ceiling while she chewed… "Ummm. Considering how right Andre could've been when he said that every pet and donor in Dallas could be a Fellowship spy, I think maybe… How about a mandatory pet screening? Could he order every vampire in his area to bring their pets for a clinic? If he has the space… _What's his population look like?_"

Without prompting, Stan answered, "We exceed 300."

She tiled her head with a slight shrug. "We can split it up over a couple of days. I'd rather do it at night though. Considering… His contract needs to include that the masters can't kill spies. The sudden disappearance of half of Newlin's parishioners could spark something nationwide. There's no way to get ahead of that."

Stan grumbled. "What does she suggest we do with them?"

She scowled at the phone. "Buy them a pony…" She started giggling at me when my eyes widened because of her sardonic remark. "…Look, I'm not trying to tell you you're business, but you want to hire me so you can find spies. Go ahead. Kill them all. And when vampires from Land's End to Tijuana start leaving a trail of ashes, I'll let their sheriffs know that you were the one that couldn't keep his fangs in check."

"That leaves us knowing who the spies are and not being able to do anything about it." I might as well have set the phone down since it didn't seem like I was needed.

"Not really. Reverse it. Set them up. Glamour them into armed robbery with no ammo, stealing cars, breaking and entering… They'll go to jail and be off the streets and out of your way. I'm sure you have a reporter that can break the story of the 'Fellowship Crime Spree'… Shame them. Discredit them. That's how you get the self righteous."

"We're free to end the individuals that have no church affiliation though."

She rolled her eyes. "To your heart's extent, but you might want to make sure your serfs don't dump the bodies in Dallas."

"I doubt they'd be so foolish. Do you have a preference of that too?"

"Area 3. Arkansas."

"Little Rock?"

"And the surrounding areas… As a matter of fact, just for fun, y'all could put all the bodies into a stolen UHaul… and then Dallas's bodies are Little Rock's nightmare."

He snorted, "I'd laugh if I wasn't concerned that she would tell Edgington to ship his bodies to me."

I laughed. "That's not Sookie's style. She was being facetious because you seem anxious to kill humans."

"She's quite cheeky."

"I have no argument. However, she's rarely wrong. Her worth allows for a very long leash..." She blew a kiss to me. "That she rarely takes for granted."

"I'm sure… I'll contact you tomorrow night once travel arrangements are made." Sookie made an incredulous face while she shook her head. The look was usually reserved for her brother's fuckery.

"I'll take care of that myself."

"You're sure?"

"Davis, you're concerned that you have spies within your nest. Why would I travel on an itinerary one of them could've arranged? We'll leave at sunset on Sunday."

Sookie left the table disappearing into our room for a few minutes…

When she came back she leaned over to place a kiss on the side of my neck… It wasn't until I felt her warmth that I realized how wet my clothes were…

I wanted her heat back and nothing Stan said managed to get my attention as Sookie knelt between my feet.

I covered the receiver. "Is your break over?"

Her eyebrow quirked as she whispered, "Ask my master."

I growled loud enough that Stan asked me if he should end the call, which I ignored. "Is sunrise why you didn't take my blood earlier?"

She cringed as she nodded. "Losing time outside like that…" Enough said.

"Stan?"

"Yes?"

"Call me tomorrow."

Sookie was already smiling when I carried her to the bedroom…

When her teeth cut into my wrist…

The last thing I could understand was the sound of fabric ripping.


	17. Chapter 17

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 17**

**A Graceful Exit**

The feeling of Sookie being attached to my side was the first thing that reached me.

The stark contrast of our body temperatures made me wonder if she could sleep as soundly on top of me. Temperature wasn't something that occurred to vampires in general. We noticed extremes, but unless it was cold enough that we were threatened with scientifically entering a solid state, it didn't really matter to us. Temperature, light, air… They didn't account for much more concern than the color of the walls….

However, Sookie's warmth amazed me…

The scent of her soaps had erased any clues about her day… She was draped over my chest with one knee resting between my thighs. The arch of her foot matched the round of my calf… It was as though she was loaning her life to the parts of me she was touching. I enjoyed the rhythm as her heartbeat echoed through her chest and into my side.

Try as I did to remember what we'd done after she took my blood again, I was at a loss, save for a few scattered flashes that made me concerned to continue giving it to her… I could remember biting her twice more, but not how much blood I took. If it weren't for how healthy she seemed, phenomenally so, I'd have anxiously awoken her to count markings… As it was, I laid there and enjoyed her essence and all she had to offer while she rested.

Eventually, her tiny hand twitched, then slid from my chest to my side, leaving a hint of her heat behind. She let a long hum and the vibration in her throat felt spectacular against my arm. "You woke me up worrying?"

"Do you remember what happened this time?"

"Some of it… I'm getting curious enough that you might be able to talk me into recording it eventually. I'm dying to know why all I can remember is how good it felt."

"I didn't hurt you?"

"If you did, I don't remember. I doubt it. Wouldn't I bruise or something?"

"You took my blood… it would've healed you before the bruise had the chance to form."

She grinned as she nipped my arm. "It sounds like its perfect then…"

"No. Far from. I could kill you… and not have the presence of mind to turn you." _It would end me._

"Do you not want to do it anymore?"

"Honestly… No. Not until you're willing to record it… even then it could be the last time. I don't want to inadvertently murder you."

"Even though the other Eric and Sookie haven't had any problems?"

"They did, actually."

She lifted her head to give me a more serious look. "What problems?"

"Apparently, he died for the day at an inopportune time… She was pinned for a full day until he rose again."

She started cackling. "Oh… my… God!"

"_That's funny to you?"_

"Well… Why wouldn't it be? I mean, it's not like people don't have stuff _go wrong_ all the time. Sex fouls are sex fouls… why not laugh at them?"

"Sex fouls? **This**, I have to hear."

She gave me a bashful grin. "Have you ever heard of a penile fracture?"

"Yes. I have, but I assumed it was an urban myth since there isn't an actual 'bone' to be fractured." Contrary to anything Pam tried to convince me of.

"Ever stub your toe?"

I reflexively winced at the idea. "What did you do today?"

She bit her lip, to keep from laughing about how ignorant I wanted to be in the subject. "I went to New Orleans to…"

"You did what?" Every bit of edge in my voice was intentional. I couldn't believe she'd do something so reckless.

"I went with…"

"Why does that matter? If something happened…"

She sat up and turned to look down at me. "I didn't see the big deal because…"

"Do you have any sense of survival?"

"Would you shut up and listen to me!?"

I sprang upright, furious enough about her flippancy to drop my fangs and grab her shoulders. "Don't tell me to shut up…"

Without her arms to lash out, she moved quickly to bring her leg up and put her foot into my stomach. I could only assume that she thought I'd let go of her. "Then don't flip your freakin' lid before you get a damn explanation! I was trying to apologize, but now you can just go screw yourself… get your hands off of me, you shit!"

"How the hell do you justify traipsing off to New Orleans!? How do I keep you safe…"

Her face turned red as she hissed through teeth, "Get your hands off of me."

"No. Tell me what fucking excuse you had…"

"No. You had your chance. You flipped your lid instead of giving me the 5 seconds I needed to explain. Go bully someone else… Now let go of me!" She twisted her body fast enough that if I hadn't let go, she would've pulled her own arms out of their sockets. She darted off of the bed and straight to the bathroom to slam the door behind her. At least I had one enjoyable hour.

"So much for thinking I could trust you with your freedom!"

She pulled a sharp breath and screamed back, "Fuck you, asshole!"

That was it. My breaking point. I didn't give myself the chance to calm down. I knew that she was clear of the door and pushed it off of the hinges… the only effort it took was to not hit the fucking thing hard enough to risk it landing on her…

She scrambled into the tub, backing herself into a corner. When she lifted her arms to hit me, I grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the wall next to her shoulders. "I must've misunderstood you…"

She spat, "Does something rhyme with 'fuck you, asshole'?" She didn't know when to quit.

"I don't think you know what you're dealing with."

"I think you're confusing me with someone who gives a shit. You're overreacting before you even know what the fuck you're overreacting to! Let go of me."

"You're not getting away from me."

She lifted her eyebrow. "I can get away from you one way or another whether you like it or not… _and you know it_."

"I'm not impressed. Your safety isn't a fucking game…"

"I guess it's a good thing I have you then, huh. I sure feel safe right now."

"You're risking being put on a very short leash."

"Fuck you." She started squirming, fighting in vain against the hold I had on her while I waited for her to stop. "I was already on one… Stop being an asshole and let me go."

"How the fuck do you consider that you were on _**ANY**_ kind of leash?"

"Because I was dumb enough to trust you with the handle… I guess I didn't learn anything from Bill… Same shit, different night."

"Don't you dare compare me to him…"

"Why not!? I'm an idiot. You're the know-it-all. I should speak when I'm spoken to… Be a good little girl and heel…"

"You're not just a fucking pet and you know it. What if something happened to you!?"

"Something could happen to me anywhere."

"That's your excuse to go 100 miles away!?"

"No! And you're not getting another word out of me until you calm the hell down."

"Tell me."

She parted her lips only to make a show of closing them again.

"Stop being an obstinate bitch and explain!"

She stared back at me defiantly. Fury was all there was to her mood. There wasn't a fragment of fear or anything resembling it and it only pissed me off more…

I let go of her wrists. "Go. Get the fuck out of my sight."

While I showered, Sookie's anger only festered from the commons. It was maddening… and I was every bit on the verge of killing the first thing to cross my path.

There were clothes on the counter for me, but as I stepped out of the tub, I realized that there was nothing special about the jeans or T-shirt. The sunny fragrance I'd been spoiled with wouldn't have improved my mood anyway.

The prospect of spending 3 hours in a car with Sookie as she was, didn't give me anymore reason to look forward to going 'home' than the chores waiting for me.

I had no interest in leaving the bedroom so that I could _**see**_ Sookie be a nagging blister from the sofa… feeling it was bad enough.

While I avoided seeing the sanctimonious expression on her face, I tended to the few business matters that were waiting in my emails… and when those options were exhausted, I opened the closet to begin packing…

Nothing was there. Nothing was in the dresser either. Sookie had stolen that escape from me before she climbed into bed with me… The room had been cleared with exception of the computer bag that had been left on the dresser and my phone that had been left plugged into the wall to charge…

Thanks to the swell of self righteousness growing in our bond, I yanked the charging cord too hard, snapping it in two… and when I picked up my phone, there was a note under it.

I had no idea how long I stared at the neatly folded paper while my anger kept my interest from reaching for it. I was almost certain that whatever was written on it would only infuriate me enough to push me over the threshold I was already standing on.

It took every bit of will I had to unfold it without shredding it.

"We needed some air and found something constructive to do.  
I'll call as soon as I feel you rise.  
We'll be back as soon as possible.  
I love you.  
Yours,  
Sookie"

I got no more answers from the note than I had from speaking to its defiant author.

The paper was still in my fist when Pam knocked on the door to my room.

"Go away."

She mumbled against the door, "Salome is here." Just what I fucking needed.

It took a moment for me to calm down enough to fake courtesies for a fellow sheriff… longer than it normally would've because of my reaction to Sookie's sudden emotional numbness.

Salome was wearing a welcoming smile with her Prada dress. "Good evening. I have to say, I'm sorry to see you off."

I faked as friendly of a smile as I could muster and did my best to ignore the phony smile plastered on Sookie's face. "We've felt quite welcome here. Your staff has been nothing if not gracious."

"I'm happy to hear that. When you return, I won't be as anxious about your party's care… Of course, we'll have to hope for better weather during your next visit."

"Better weather?"

She spared a moment to scan the room and take on a confused expression. "Of course… Lightning destroyed the compressors just before dawn… Unfortunately, there were difficulties installing new machinery today…"

I risked a look around the room only to see that Alcide, Jason, Paulette and Sookie all looked wilted… like they were being cooked. Fuck.

Salome continued with a fresh grin, "I'm afraid I might not be able to trust your opinion of my staff if your party is too agreeable to mention the heat that's nearly turned the hotel into a sauna from what I'm told." Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. The note said that she 'needed some air'.

Fuck… No. No. I refused to feel guilty since all it would've taken was an explanation that Sookie was refusing to give. "That certainly isn't a staffing problem."

Sookie agreed, "Phillip and Sydney have been more attentive than you could hope for, Salome. _You should watch out_. They could be drawn away as private day staff."

Salome nodded. "They usually are. If they make it out of the introduction stage of concierge service, they're usually lured away within a year."

Sookie wiggled her eyebrows. "You should charge a finder's fee."

"I've thought about it, but it doesn't replace them any faster... Can I be of any service? I'm sure you're all anxious to get home. You've been traveling for a while, yes?"

I nodded. "We've been out of my area for a week now. There's plenty waiting to be done when we return."

Sookie added, "Alcide and Jason loaded the cars a while ago as an excuse to go downstairs. We only need to get into the cars… I'm sorry the last day we were here was a waste for you…"

"Nonsense. The show was well worth the price of admission. I couldn't complain before you found a telepath for me. I'm excited to watch her learn about her ability. Owen is practically giddy over the oddity as well."

Sookie giggled, "Happy to help."

Salome practically bowed. "I'm indebted for your help, Miss Stackhouse… I'll take my leave so that you can escape to cooler temperatures. I'd hate to keep you until ambulances need to be called again." She offered another deep nod in my direction and took her leave… _fucking ambulances_.

The blast of air being pushed through the lobby by industrial fans brought about a collective of heaving and relieved breaths as soon as the elevator doors slid open.

Walking through, the lobby was deserted save for Phillip and another daemon behind the check-in desk. In the casino the overhead lights and all visible machinery had been shut off. The boutique, restaurant and Shed were closed and the large doors at the front and rear were propped open to help move air…

There wasn't a single donor or gambler in sight.

I still hadn't grasped the severity of the heat until we stepped off of the elevator… I could only guess, but there must've been a 20 degree difference…

Fuck.

Waiting on the semi-circular curb in front of the hotel, there were only three vehicles. It was a stark contrast to the dozen that had been waiting with the valets when we'd arrived.

There was a Towncar waiting to return the Berts to New Orleans…

There was Paulette's brand new Range Rover… and there was a huge black pickup truck, complete with a steel tool box in the bed that was loaded down with boxes and luggage.

While Sookie, Jason and Paulette said their goodbyes to the Berts, Alcide turned to me. "It's no limo, but it's comfortable." I almost asked why I'd care, but I noticed that my suitcase was in the back of his truck.

Pam joked, "I haven't dressed appropriately. Don't I require a coverall of some kind?"

He chuckled, "I'll make an exception… Just this once."

She smiled in good spirits in spite of my mood. "So who is riding in what?"

He shrugged, "You two are with me since we're going to Shreveport… It's a straight shot for us once we get on 49 North, but they're taking the exit for 167 in Alexandria." I was not fucking happy. Not happy at all about the seating arrangements, Sookie returning to Bon Temps, Sookie's plans to return to Bon Temps without her guard… anything could happen. _**Any fucking thing**_ could happen… she could be lost forever before I could get to her even if she wasn't being so stubborn that I had to question if she'd even call me, let me know if there was trouble… Fuck.

Pam held her hand out to ask for Alcide's keys. "Can I drive?"

"No… but if you behave I'll help you unload all your shit. You bought more in one week than I own." I watched in silence as Sookie climbed into the back of Paulette's SUV without as much as a glance in my direction.

"If I had known you needed clothes, I'd have shopped for you too. I love dressing men."

"I don't need clothes. I have a closet full of them. You… have a Macy's…"

"Awww. _Flatterer_."

He laughed at her. "Get your ass in the truck, Diva…"

"Can you drive with your head hanging out of the window?"

"Can you walk with piss in your shoes? Hop in."

Since I watched Sookie wave to Pam and Alcide as we pulled out, all my mood did was degenerate.

For the next 50 miles, I ignored the banter between Pam and Alcide in favor of scrutinizing my bond to the temperamental void in the car behind us… waiting to feel anything from her, waiting for some sort of weakening that I never got…

I wasn't willing to ask. I wasn't going to 'bully someone else'. I'd asked her for the fucking explanation. She was the one I'd get it from. Period. I wasn't willing to budge on the matter.

Shortly after Alcide turned onto 49 North, Pam turned to stretch her legs out over the bench in the back of Alcide's cab and started paying close attention to her cell phone… It apparently gave Alcide an opportunity…

"If I had known you'd be pissed, I wouldn't have agreed. I guess I should've just taken her to the pool."

"I'm not pissed at you." His decision to allow the travel was so far down my list of reasons for being livid that it wasn't worth mentioning.

"I went along… was it that it was too far or off the property at all… I should know for next time."

"I haven't decided yet." Especially since I didn't know anything.

"Just let me know then… I just didn't want her to burn up in the hotel… I didn't figure you'd be too jazzed about waking up to her having heat stroke." I wouldn't have been… If that had been the case, Alcide would've been my reason for seething.

"Staying closer would have been preferred, but getting out of the hotel was the smart thing to do under the circumstances." Going to the pool would've done nothing but give them all sunburns to go with their heat stroke.

"I guess there isn't a way to plan for something like this… staying in a hotel that ends up being a kiln."

"You're right about that."

"To be honest… I've seen the way you kind of follow her lead, kind of wait and see. Hell, even Salome did it… When she came up with the plan, I didn't think of anything that would be an immediate problem… like I said, just let me know. I won't let it happen again."

"I'm angry with Sookie. She should've known better than to think I'd be comfortable with a plan that included being 100 miles away. Were there other suggestions about what to do instead?"

"When we couldn't decide on a movie, Jason suggested bowling… their grandmother used to take them to the lanes when it was too hot to stay home since they didn't have AC growing up." Those options would've been less nerve-wracking, by far.

"Sookie won't be leaving the hotel in Dallas."

"Gotcha… to be fair, she didn't want to leave today… we had to talk her into leaving." Fuck.

"You did?"

"Yeah… she didn't want to leave y'all. She was suspicious of the AC being out. She thought it could've been a way to get the humans out so that someone could get to the vampires easier… She cleared every floor looking for anyone who could be plotting… She had Paulette ward all the way to the stairwell… and Salome's apartment got some extra juice… She called Syd every hour…"

Pam jokingly added, "I'm disappointed that Paulette grabbed her car… I could've sat on Jason's lap for the trip." Hearing about her playtime with Jason Stackhouse was not going to improve my disposition.

"I'm not in the mood for sharing…"

She sighed, "You never are… they're planning to stop to eat dinner. Are we stopping with them or continuing on our way."

"We'll stop. I'm sure Alcide needs to eat and I don't want Sookie unprotected longer than necessary." It could give me the chance to talk to Sookie.

"Perhaps Jason will be up for an escapade in the…"

"Pam… What do you have planned for Jason?"

"Fucking. Absurd amounts of fucking…"

"Have you fed from him?"

"Why do I have to share? You never do."

"Because I say so."

She huffed, "No. Not last night anyway… That boy… I guess you could say, he bought dinner so I thanked him accordingly." Alcide started laughing.

"He found your playmates?" Not that I'd given it much thought, but I'd assumed she'd arranged for the party.

"He did. _I could enjoy his company for a very long time_. I've completely forgiven him for being simple. I dare say, he's worth his weight in Dior."

I rolled my eyes at her. "As much as I try to dodge the details of your sex life, play carefully. I'd like to avoid having to intervene in a catfight… you know how protective Sookie can be."

She nodded. "Don't worry about that. I'm not interested in closing that ride prematurely. Jason Stackhouse is an amusement park of…"

"Stop talking."

I didn't need to see her… Pam's whimsy always came with an intoxicated looking grin… I was still too pissed to see anyone else smile.

Just outside of Alexandria, Alcide took an exit that led him to a steakhouse…

When everyone else left to go into the restaurant, I opted to stay in the truck.

Without hints of Sookie's mood yet, knowing her location with pinpoint accuracy needled me enough that within 10 minutes, I tried to 'call' her… I wasn't sure if she could ignore me when she was blocking our bond, but I wasn't interested in causing a scene inside.

As it turned out, she could ignore me… with extreme brutality. As I called her with enough strength that it would've made Pam feel ill, Sookie scowled at me from her seat by the window. The glare I was getting did nothing more than tell me that she knew I wanted her to come to me… it was a vicious refusal. I was angry, but there was more to it. If she hadn't gotten the ring for me, she could undoubtedly leave me. Bond or no, I had no power over her… No power over her behavior that she didn't give me… She could too easily remove the ring from my hand while I was dead and be completely free of me… I only wished I could say the same for myself.

She had enough money in her bank accounts that if she removed my ring at dawn, she could go anywhere in the world and be completely new before sunset freed me to look for her. An unknown waitress in Budapest. Working without notice in a Perth department store. Anonymously answering phones in Vancouver. She knew she could evade me.

The notion that I could be left without her gave me a nagging emptiness that I was sure was only a taste of what the reality would be.

I pulled harder, needing to talk to her and refusing to lower myself to make my plea publically…

She finally gave in… not yielding to me, only exasperated with my persistence. The look on her face when she knocked over her chair to storm out left the rest of her companions to gawk.

She sauntered out of the restaurant, marching directly to me with her jaw set.

"Explain."

She raised her eyebrows, refusing me again.

"This is the calmest I'm going to get until I have answers. Explain."

"Why didn't you just shake Alcide until he told you?"

"I didn't fucking shake you. I grabbed you. From the time you woke up to the time I did, explain what happened today."

"I didn't wake up. I came out of whatever happens when we share blood and Jason was already knocking on the door."

"You never slept…"

"Shut up. I'm giving you what the fuck you want. Have the decency to listen so that I can go back and eat my damn dinner while it's still warm… We got downstairs and Syd followed us to the restaurant because the AC was out and the temperature was going up like crazy… She wanted to help us find somewhere cool to spend the day. There weren't any customers to read because they were turning folks away and going to a skeleton crew for insurance reasons. We knocked around a few ideas. Movies, bowling, arcades… Paulette mentioned that she was thinking about going back to New Orleans to get some of her things and start lining things up for her move and close up your house… If I had to leave the hotel, I didn't want it to be for nothing. I suggested we all go. Alcide drove his truck down. We helped Paulette make some calls and get her things… then we went to your house and cleaned and packed up all the stuff Pam had bought to save Paulette another trip. As it stands, she won't need to go back to New Orleans. Your house is warded and her brother is going to re-ward the property as a whole once a gardener can be hired. She put in her 30 days notice for her apartment… She's going to stay with me when we're in _your area_. She's going to ward a perimeter around my house so that vampires can't do the 'if it doesn't have walls, I don't need an invite' thing… We drove back. I packed for us and I took a cold shower while the guys hauled our stuff down. I got into bed and I woke up with my _charming_ _master_. Are we done? I'm hungry and need a few stiff drinks."

"Something could've happened to you. Someone could've gotten to you."

"Whatever…" She turned around and started walking away. I wasn't about to let her leave. I moved to block her path and when she slammed into me, she stepped back to scowl again. "Who? Who the hell was going to come after me? Vampires? During the day? Their lackeys who wouldn't have had any way of knowing I'd be out of the hotel spontaneously? I was just as safe at your house in New Orleans as I was when you were in it."

"Someone still could've hurt you, but if I had let you explain…"

Without warning her hand crossed my face with enough force to leave a fiery sting. "Don't you dare! Don't you think that you can act like you're sorry for being an asshole after you threw my fucking freedom in my face… You made me feel like a piece of property and rubbed my nose in the fact that I was dumb enough to trust you not to treat me like that. You won. You have me. I'll see you tomorrow night. Alcide is coming to get me and Paulette for errands in the morning and we'll be waiting at Jackson's office at sunset."

"I'm not finished."

"Then finish alone. I'm not doing this."

When she tried to step around me, I blocked her path again. "I panicked."

"Get out of my way."

I had to block another attempted getaway. "You worried about me too."

"Yeah. I did. When the door on the roof wouldn't open, all I could do was picture you burning to death and there wouldn't be any way for me to stop it… I was scared to death and it made you feel loved… Tell me Eric, why is it that when you worried about me, you felt the same way you did when you were dealing with Hadley and Lorena? You wanted to remind me of my damn place, THAT'S WHY! It makes me sick to think I fell for it **all over** **again**. Hook, line and sinker…"

"STOP! Stop comparing me to Compton. I've done everything I could to protect you… That stain planned ways to hurt you. And my feelings _would be_ similar because those bitches planned to take you away from me!"

"Are you finished yet?"

"No."

"What the hell do you want from me?"

"I want… I want you calm down and listen to me."

"This would be one of those 'tough shit' moments. You can't beat a dog and then expect it to climb back into your lap. I'm done."

"What do you mean, you're done?"

"I may be trapped, but I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to make a fool out of myself and act like I'm anything more than a toy to you. You can go back to fucking your admirers. I'll go back to my quiet little town and crawl into my case until you need to pull me out for special occasions."

"You're not just a toy or a pet…"

"Of course not. I'm a fool too."

"Did you avoid bringing up the part of your day when you scanned the whole hotel and had Paulette reinforce her wards because it makes you look like a hypocrite? You're allowed to worry about my safety, but I'm not allowed to be concerned for yours."

"No. I didn't mention it because you would've just laughed off my concern like you did on the roof."

"I don't disregard you or your opinion. My reaction was no more exaggerated and irrational than yours had been… You're damming me for the same thing you're guilty of."

She folded her arms and stepped closer. "I don't remember manhandling you, breaking down a door, trying to scare you, keeping you from solving the problem… and I sure as hell didn't say or do anything to demean you."

"And I'm trying to apologize, but you're not letting me."

"I don't want your damn apology."

"What do you want?"

"I want you to leave me alone unless you need me to read minds, _**master**_." The way she hissed out 'master' made me feel like I'd been run through… the sudden, agonizing knot in my gut made it hard for me to keep my feet under me.

"You're punishing me for not letting you explain."

"No… I'm cutting my losses so that it doesn't hurt as much when you treat your employee like an idiot."

"You're not an employee."

"I am now."

"No. You're not. You're mine. I love you. You're going to calm down and realize that I regret overreacting. You're going to stop blocking your feelings. You're going to stop being an irrational hypocrite because that's why you're angry with me. You're going to grasp that the reason that I was so upset is because you mean too much to me. You're going to give me a fucking chance to adjust to loving and trusting someone. You're going to stop threatening to end everything but your protection. You're going to stop acting like you hate me. You're going to get used to the idea that I'd do anything to protect you. You're _going to_ step over the bodies and puddles of anyone who tries to hurt you or take you from me… Not because I own you… because you fucking own me." She stared at me through empty eyes. Nothing I had said had inspired a single trace of feeling… She was a vault… nothing readable was creeping to her surface. I might as well have been talking to myself.

"_I'm going_… to go eat my dinner in peace."

"This isn't over."

No answer. Just another vacant stare until I stepped to the side to let her go back… and she huffed and started walking to the restaurant.

The few finite fucking answers I had, wouldn't help.

The only things I knew for certain about how to handle the situation I'd found myself in would do nothing but worsen Sookie's mood.

Sookie had defied me, denied me, slapped me, threatened me, insulted me and walked away from me… For all intents and purposes, if I didn't know better… Sookie Stackhouse had just 'broken up' with me.

I knew exactly how to deal with anyone who'd been so monstrously irritable… Pets, vampires, employees, humans… in my life and in my death… There was a list of options for putting them in their place and no one had ever directed that type of behavior towards me and walked away unscathed… for that matter, very few had walked away at all.

Unfortunately, there was no precedent for Sookie. No known way to deal with the situation without making matters escalate.

Sookie Stackhouse was my fucking pet. Whether she liked it or not, by definition fucking and feeding and protecting… it added up to being my pet. She needed to come to terms with that fact.

In the roughest of senses, she was also an employee. Any other creature working under my protection would receive their pay minus my percentage. Even though I wasn't siphoning 12% from her earnings, she was on Northman Enterprises' payroll.

And she'd had enough of my blood that she was honestly starting to seem both vampire and human alike. Her body still very much alive, but her mannerisms and moods weren't following mine as much as mirroring them.

She wasn't any of those things that books had already been written about, because she was all of them.

The singular most unique part of the moment was that I'd never wanted to be forgiven more in my existence… her silence was worse than any punishment I'd ever experienced.

While I sat in Alcide's truck and came up empty for ways of rectifying the situation that I'd created and she'd enflamed, I watched her.

She wasn't faking anything for her companions. They all seemed to take turns watching her…

While the rest of them talked (in Pam and Jason's case, groped), Sookie quietly nursed her iced teas and studied the television over the bar.

I never took my eyes from her. Seeing her was all I had…

A salad, another tea, from the looks of it, she'd ordered some sort of pasta dish and another iced tea…

There were a few times when it felt as though her barricade on our bond might diminish, but it would be shored up again no sooner than I let myself hope…

All the while, she hid her spirit from me as well as used the TV as an excuse to hide from her company.

She hadn't been interested in her entrée for long before she gave her unwanted portion to Jason and sat back to sip from her tea…

A few moments later, I watched her eyes narrow. Her focus seemed to alternate from the TV to a couple sitting at a nearby table… the male was watching the television as intently as she had been.

Sookie reached over to Alcide's plate and took one of his French fries that looked more a slaughter once he'd doused them with ketchup.

She whispered something to him that Pam overheard and gave her a tetchy yet curious swell that made her abandon her previous arousal. I was at a loss as to what was happening under the table, but the arm Jason wasn't using to eat was in Pam's lap and contorted in a way that gave me a few guesses.

Sookie stood, French fry in one hand, empty tea glass in the other.

Unable to hear and only seeing anything from tabletops up, I was forced to guess… By the time Sookie sat next to a pair of idiots who'd arrived on ear-splitting Yamahas, the French fry was gone, but not because she'd eaten it. She seemed to flirt with the two fools while the bartender mixed what I thought had been an iced tea, but turned out to be her 6th _Long Island_ iced tea.

Seeing how alert Pam and Alcide were staying made me leave the truck to get closer in case something went wrong.

Inching across the parking lot, I saw Sookie turn around to lean back against the bar and sip her drink while the hard ons next to her leered at my Sookie's body… Whatever he said to her, earned him a dirty look.

Only a moment went by… Sookie gave a surprised face, launching from her perch and disappearing from my line of sight for a few seconds before standing again next to the female in the couple… the female was examining a 'mysterious' red smear on the front of a white Coach purse… I'd have to remember to commend Pam for behaving.

As the woman darted to the back of the building, Sookie wasted no time sitting across from the male who'd been so preoccupied with the TV.

Sookie studied the man for a moment before she jerked her head upward and if I had to guess, she asked the man, 'what's up?'.

That was when I moved in…

Her ploys had made me anxious enough in the past, but without her moods as my guide, I wasn't taking any chances.

The most space I was willing to give her at the time was standing at the bar next to the idiots she'd flirted with. It had taken me less than a second to situate myself and judging by the smell of things, I'd scared the piss out of one of them.

The man was wearing a leery, if not terrified look. "Can I help you?"

"How are you feeling?"

His brow furrowed. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Sookie took another long sip of her drink. "I was just wondering… you know… I would guess you'd be pretty damn tired after conjuring up a storm so big."

The way his scalp shifted gave him away. "Excuse me? Are you unwell?"

"I'm a little tipsy. Drinking away a fight with m' boyfriend. Thanks for asking. Back to you though… how much do you charge for something like that?"

"Something like what?"

"Storms for hire."

"Ma'am…"

She interrupted him by stabbing her hand through the air to shake his. "Sookie. Nice to meet you Julian."

His back stiffened and she called him rude as she took her unshaken hand back. "How do you know who I am?"

"I'm a telepath…" She wiggled her nose. "You're a witch… you're right on par with the most powerful one I've ever met too. So… what were you hired to do?"

"Just a storm… It was a… who do you work for?"

"The vampires of Louisiana. Now you. Who, what, where, when and why? Now."

The man's throat clenched. "I was called a couple of weeks ago from a casino…"

"Seven Veils?"

"A couple of names were dropped and I was asked to help them with… their air conditioning was acting up, but they're strapped for legit cash. Insurance fudging. Lightning strikes the units on the roof and viola, insurance covers acts of God…"

"_That's mighty cocky of you..._ Who called you?"

"Mickey."

"So you're watching TV with the wife one night and Mickey called and hired you to aid them in some insurance fraud?"

"Well, it was during the day, but yeah… I looked up the number, and it was actually from the hotel." If it was during the day, it was someone who knew enough about Salome to frame her child… It would discredit her. It would shame her.

"Were you smart enough to keep that number?"

He nodded and reached for his pocket. He handed over his phone like it he couldn't wait for it to be out of his hand.

Sookie dialed the number and waited… and waited… She finally gave up and whistled, calling for Pam who hurled Sookie's phone through the air without being asked. Even impaired as Sookie was, she caught the phone smoothly and began dialing… but it only took a single ring to be answered that time.

Salome crooned, "I was just thinking about you, Rula. I'm quite bored at the moment. I already miss the excitement from having you here."

Sookie smiled into the phone. "You have no idea what you just did for my self esteem… I need to ask you a very serious question though."

"I don't like the sound of this."

"I'm sorry. This isn't a good call. Did you have any parts or knowledge of an ongoing problem with your compressors?"

"No. They were only a year old."

"So you have no knowledge of any reason they would need to be replaced."

"No. I would. I know… I know everything that I can without you here."

"The company who replaced them, is it the same one that installed them?" I was actually proud of her for thinking of that.

"Yes. Why are you asking?" I could hear the worry growing in her voice.

"As luck would have it, we stopped for dinner and ran into a witch who was hired to conjure a storm… So that when lightning struck your roof, your insurance would pay to replace them. He was operating under the request of Mickey, except when this Mickey called, he did so during the day."

"Do you think this is a gift from our friends in Arkansas? Or our devout neighbors to the west?"

"I think you need to call the bomb squad."

"The compressors aren't installed yet. We're waiting until the morning when they can be lifted by helicopter…"

"Salome, you evacuated the building. There wasn't a living soul on the floors while the air conditioning company was free to roam every level. If I had to guess, I'd say you have a bunch of little ones scattered here and there."

"Why would they bomb an empty building?"

"I don't think they would. I think they'd plant bombs they could activate later… when you're full."

"Thank you…"

"Salome, you probably already thought of this, but quietly get your security footage and employee records for the past couple of years."

"Honestly, I hadn't thought about the employee files… this is… there's a lot to think about. Why would you suggest so far back?"

"Because you said that your concierges don't stay with you for long… I'd be willing to bet that one of them took some files with them when they were offered an Arkansas gig... Files like which contractors you use."

"That makes perfect sense… Should I worry about the witch?"

"His name is Julian Trout. He's a meteorologist in Illinois. He truly didn't know that something else was afoot. But he does owe you a favor, now doesn't he?" The man was washed out enough that he looked like he was going to be sick.

"I'm sure I can think of a way for him to make it up to me. Thank you."

"The number that the phony Mickey called from was in the hotel. I'm sure it was from an unreserved room, but I'll text it to you nonetheless… Along with Julian's important information… In case he decides to be difficult about returning the favor and needs some encouragement… _Call me with news?"_


	18. Chapter 18

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 18**

**Driving The Point Home**

No sooner than Sookie closed her phone, Pam whistled to her… and Sookie responded by tossing Trout's phone and her own so that Pam could retrieve whatever information she could find.

Julian's mouth hung open and his eyes didn't seem to want to point in the same direction. "What's going to happen to me?"

Sookie stared at him for a few moments to gather information. "I'd be more worried about what could happen to your wife and kids… Your house… You being on TV makes things interesting. Imagine the scandal when your daughter claims you molested her. No one would ever believe that a vampire glamoured her to believe it. Would Chanel 7 have the courtesy to ignore that headline? There are worse things than being hurt. You should be more worried about being _ruined_. Play nice and do what Salome asks when she calls and you'll be fine… How were you paid?"

He breathed out a deep breath. "Uh… cash. It was left for me with the concierge at the Delacroix where we were staying."

"Was being hired the only time you were contacted?"

"No. He contacted me from another number, his 'private line', but when I called him after the storm rolled through Baton Rouge, it wasn't in service…"

"Were you ever contacted by someone personally?"

The witch directed his frown at the pail of peanuts on the table. He shook his head, obviously crushed under the weight of what an easy target he'd been. Pam let another little whistle and fired the cell phones back to Sookie. They were easily caught and Pam was quietly thanked. It was amusing to watch… It was as though the two of them had been working together as long as Pam and I had…

"Did Mickey have any kind of accent?"

He shook his head. "Nothing… I never saw him. I never picked up a hint of an accent. I never… I thought I was earning some cash to add to college funds. I was paid $100,000 to break what would've cost them millions to repair out of pocket. I thought I was helping someone out…" Paulette cast a knowing glance my way, but it wasn't necessary. I already understood why she and Porter were reluctant to do _any_ damage with their abilities. Not only were they too honorable to want to hurt anyone, they were smart enough to know they could be tricked.

Sookie nodded. "I know… Your wife is on her way back… Sorry about her purse, I just needed to get her out of the way so we could talk." Sookie stood up taking her drink with her and went back to the table with everyone else…

They made a show of clapping, cheering and whistling… celebrating Sookie's discovery and talent for connecting dots. Alcide went to the point of leaning back in his chair with his arms out and his eyes squeezed shut. "Go ahead. I bet you a free shot that there wasn't anything to the AC being out… You were right. Get it over with." She all but ignored him.

Sookie wasn't celebrating.

She still wasn't sharing her emotions with me and the only way to describe her appearance would be to call it downtrodden.

Jason cocked his head to the side like a curious puppy. "Sook, I know your wheels is turning. What's up? You should be proud of yourself."

Her brow pulled together as her eyes closed. Shaking her head slightly, she hummed as she started, "Nothing to celebrate yet… This is wrong."

"What is?"

"New Orleans… Baton Rouge…"

"You thinking Alexandria, Monroe and Shreveport are next?" I was just impressed that Jason knew all three of those cities were in Louisiana.

Sookie held a finger up, still deep in thought. "No… no… it's not the same… It's… it's _**smarter**_…"

Without caring if I was welcome, I took a seat at the table next to her. "You think it was someone else."

She nodded, seemingly accepting of my presence for state business. It made me feel completely hollow. "What we know about New Orleans… human spies were booby trapped so that if they were found out and detained, the puppet masters would know right away. Smart. Humans were used to produce, deliver and detonate the bomb during the day. Smart. All of it was set up to make the church look like the guilty party. Either scaring the Queen into marrying Arkansas anyway or if she died, Arkansas would be the first to hear about it and he could move in and take over, maybe even claim that the marriage licenses gave him dibs. Smart…"

I nodded, seeing where her train of thought was going. "In this case, we have an out of state witch called in to disable air conditioning compressors…"

Sookie interrupted with a raised voice that she aimed in Trout's direction, "I can't believe how hot it was today. It was just sweltering!" She waited a moment before turning her attention back me. "The heat was him too. That was part of it. He was told that the insurance company was less likely to drag their feet if the hotel had to shut down."

I gave her another nod. "Lightning strikes the compressors which fixes two problems; having an excuse to be in the building and getting rid of witnesses as they plant the bombs. By the time the bombs go off, the air conditioning isn't on the list of possible ways they could've gotten in… Salome, if she survives the blast, would assume that it's a problem with the neighbors… As would the Queen. Either way, the unknown threat is in the clear."

Alcide raised an eyebrow. "New Orleans got a nitrogen bomb like Oklahoma City, right? Unassuming box van parked by a service entrance rips the building in half… What would they use in a hotel?"

Jason blurted, "Deer season." We all stared at him for a minute. He was smiling boastfully like he'd won a tractor pull. "You go hunting alone… if you fart you ain't gonna catch nothin'. It'll spook everything away from ya. You go with a group… ya fan out and make all the noise ya want… scare everything to the middle. Easy hunting… Y'alls rooms was at the end of a long ass hall. Three wings, 20 floors like that… right? Little bombs in some of those rooms… that wouldn't kill many folks… So… put a bomb in y'alls room or the one under it, cuz'a Paulette's mojo… every few floors under it… everyone gets spooked and tries to get outta Dodge… BOOM! A second batch of bombs goes off in the stairwells and in the lobby. They get EVERY. BODY… Air conditioning problems, right? Ain't nobody gonna think about seeing someone checking vents for output, right?"

If it weren't for everyone else's mouths being open in shock, I wouldn't have noticed mine was too.

Jason sat back and he cringed. "Ya know, I heard after 9-11, most e'erbody they found whole was crushed when the stairwells collapsed… _fuckin sad_." Actually, what was fucking sad was that his genius reminded me of a flare gun. It burned bright enough, but unless someone witnessed it, it was fucking useless.

Sookie shook off her surprise first. "Who? If the church is preoccupied with their bonfire plans, and this isn't Arkansas, who would benefit from scaring the Queen into a war…"

Alcide shrugged. "She'd need allies like a mother fucker. She's got crazies to the west and north… She isn't going to get anything but a hiding place from Edgington. He wouldn't risk his ass to do more. He's a 'Me-Man'. She'd need money for funding, soldiers…"

"DeCastro." Pam and I had corresponding epiphanies.

Sookie narrowed her eyes. "The guy?" Meaning the King of Nevada who she'd promised to not work for? That would be the one.

I nodded.

"Why does he want Louisiana?"

"Greed. His favorite sport is squeezing money out of drunk human tourists. He's made plenty of enemies by not playing nicely."

Sookie let a loud groan as she slammed herself against the back of her chair, sagging her head back as she went limp. "Freakin' peachy. Threadgill and Newlin aren't enough, right? Let's add in a guy who's going to let everyone thin each other out and then pick off the few left… over what? Riverboats and cemetery tours? So much bullshit…"

Pam finished, "So little time."

Jason snorted. "Y'all need to kill him. That dude's invested enough… he wasn't kibitzing… he's all in."

I raised an eyebrow at him. The only thing I could figure was that he'd accidently left his retardation in his other pants (or Pam's purse). "That's a given. _**How**_ would be the more important part of this. He wouldn't have made such a big play without insulating himself."

While the rest of us mulled things over, the waitress came back with drink refills for everyone _including Sookie_. I wanted to say something about how much she'd already had… not to mention that she'd called it 'drinking away a fight'… Her cheeks were rosy and I didn't have to feel her to know she was drunk. Her eyes were hooded with heavy lids, her gestures were exaggerated and her speech was becoming affected. I needed her to be steady. The topic at hand aside, I needed to be able to talk to her later.

Sookie started, "If any vampire from Louisiana stepped foot in Nevada, he'd know."

I nodded. She seemed to be thinking aloud.

"He wouldn't be dumb enough to accept an invitation to visit the Bayou."

"That would be too easy."

"He needs to drop his guard."

I nodded.

"How do vampires do weddings?"

"They don't happen often… they tend to be grotesquely flamboyant."

"Big enough to invite other vampire kings and queens?"

"What are you thinking?"

"If Sophie-Ann…" Sookie leaned towards me to whisper, "If Sophie-Ann caves, gives in, agrees to the wedding with Arkansas then all the pawns are lined up and in the same place."

"The Queen _would not_ marry Arkansas just to get DeCastro to Louisiana."

"She wouldn't have to. Guests in attendance, major players in place, the marriage contracts get signed after heated last minute deliberations and everyone goes to rest for the day…"

"And how does the Queen narrowly escape marrying a king who tried to, and still plans to murder her?"

Sookie put her elbows on the table, leaning closer to me. "Because a certain telepath is about to visit Newlin's stomping ground for routine pet scanning… If I sit down with that hate-whore Reverend… I think I could negotiate that bounty for a vampire bonfire… Everyone goes to rest for the day before the wedding, and every Second and Sheriff that Arkansas and Nevada bring with them get carted off with their kings and the church implicates themselves on the evening news."

Pam deadpanned, "I have a boner." She wasn't the only one.

The devil was in the details. "Sophie-Ann couldn't take control of Nevada."

Sookie shrugged. "So. As far as I know, she doesn't want it. She can let New Mexico and Arizona, or whoever pick that carcass… At least DeCastro is out of her hair."

"Some of them could stir if they're bothered during the day."

"Travel boxes… All Sophie-Ann would have to do is remind everyone about the 'church' bombing and suggest everyone brings their own just in case. They'd make the job of killing them easier out of paranoia."

"We would need a small militia to get through their security. They wouldn't die for the day without protection."

"Food poisoning?"

Paulette shook her head. She'd been quietly observing the plotting, but she finally offered, "I got it."

"How?"

"Porter, Mags and I… we'll knock them all out. They'll feel like they were sleeping."

"You haven't wanted…"

She interrupted, "I can justify it. By knocking them out, they won't die trying to defend their kings… and if y'all don't do something, every vampire in Louisiana, _including my employer_, could be toast by the time the dust clears… It's fine. I'm fine with it. We'll play sandman."

"Would something like that work for Dae?"

She nodded. "If all three of us work together, you and Pam could take a nap."

"And you can exclude humans?"

"Everyone has a weakness. Steel, gold, iron, silver, mercury… it'll be expensive but we'll make sure to be specific to who we're knocking out so that humans can move freely." I didn't like the idea of Paulette working with mercury, but I had to trust that she knew what she was doing.

Sookie raised her eyebrows and added, "And if anyone notices that travel boxes are getting carted out of wherever… a bomb threat would be the cover…" It all seemed perfect.

"It would take time."

Sookie leaned back again. "And a lot of smooth talking, but Threadgill isn't going to let things sit. He's going to jump at the chance so the Queen doesn't change her mind again."

"You won't go to Newlin alone."

She raised an eyebrow at me as though she was tempted to do it, just to terrify me. "I don't have any intention to."

"How do you think you'll go about your meeting then?"

"Giving him a few of the spies I find in the Dallas nests. He listens or we leave with them."

"Who is we?"

"Us. _This group_. Stan can't be involved because the implication for Texas could whip back and take his head off. We go to Newlin's house. Where he keeps his family."

"Newlin would die. He'd be a martyr. Two states would be after him."

"Wasn't he already working on that?"

"Threadgill could want to do the wedding in Little Rock."

Sookie shrugged again. "Sophie-Ann needs to insist on doing it at the Abbey for sentimental reasons… or because she already had Quinn line everything up… whatever."

Alcide snorted. "Is DeCastro cocky enough to stay at the Seven Veils? It would be fitting and all, but Sookie's already scanned the shit out of all of those employees… All she'd have when we get back is EEE's staff."

I shrugged. "It's certainly big enough…" I stood and held my hand out to Sookie. "I suppose we have a Queen to call."

She'd taken my hand, but as soon as we were outside, she dropped it…

_**That**_ is what Sookie was like when she pretended to be a pet.

I leaned against the siding clad wall of the restaurant while Sookie wandered circles over the asphalt with her hands tucked into the back pockets of her jean shorts.

She really wasn't needed for the conversation. As I relayed the think tank's thoughts and recommended plan to Andre and Sophie-Ann, Sookie was only asked to clarify trivial details that could've been worked out later. I just didn't want to let her out of my sight.

The only surprise that the call offered was that Sophie-Ann mentioned that all of the guests would be disappointed if there wasn't a wedding of some kind… Because of information we'd gotten from our company, Sookie offhandedly suggested that Andre get fitted for a tux… the lack of shock coming from them gave me notice.

I ended the call, agreeing with the Queen and her Second that things would be set into motion as soon as we received word from Salome… If Sookie was right about the bombing attempt… Louisiana was going to be overthrowing the monarchies of two states on the word of a human… without question.

Sookie was lazily, maybe unsteadily walking back to the front of the restaurant as I put my phone back into my pocket.

"Hold on."

She stopped and turned to face me. "Why? Do you suspect something?"

"Yes… But I want to talk to you."

She huffed as she rolled her eyes. "What do you suspect?" It didn't escape me that she had no interest in hearing about anything but suspicions.

"Since our company described their Andre's reaction to the marriage suggestion as 'uppity shock', I'm even more sure than I was before that your cousin's coupling with the Queen caused the same thing as our being together."

She shrugged and bumped a rock with her toe. "I don't see how it matters."

"I don't really think it matters, but we might be able to learn something about it if we talk to them."

"What point would there be in that though?"

"They could know how to do it purposely or how to avoid it. Your cousin has been with the Queen for 5 years… our company had been together for less than a month… They probably have more experience with whatever it is."

She snorted, "Why would anyone do it on purpose?"

"I can't think of anything off hand… but…"

"But what?"

"Your grandmother is still alive in their version."

She balked. Every part of her body froze for a moment before she started her trek back to the restaurant, mumbling that I was a 'cruel bastard'.

I moved quickly to put myself in front of her. "Sookie, I only mentioned it because it's a possibility. I was thinking that learning more could save us from some confusion."

Her eyes were already filling when they met mine and her lip was trembling when she opened her mouth to speak. "So you weren't thinking that you'd distract me from being pissed at you by suggesting I could see Gran again? Really… that was low."

"I wasn't…" She stepped to the side, trying to leave me before I could explain and I had seen enough of her walking away from me for a lifetime.

I slipped my arm around her waist only to have her start fighting against me, beating my chest. Shushing her and asking her to calm down weren't doing any good either. She made it unexpectedly difficult, but I managed to get my other arm around her to hold her and lift us from the ground. "God dammit, Eric… Leave me alone… _I'll hide_…"

I barked, "No. You won't. You promised that you wouldn't do that anymore."

She clutched the backs of my arms and wrapped her legs around one of mine as though I'd drop her. "Let me go then."

"I want to talk to you. You'll just run away."

She clenched her jaw and hissed, "_**You promised**_ to not make me feel helpless."

"How are you helpless?"

"You've got me 20 feet in the damn air! I don't have a choice but to listen to you."

"Why won't you talk to me?"

"Because you were an asshole. You made me feel like nothing. I have every right to be pissed at you."

"I was worried. As soon as you said that you had gotten so far away from me, endless possibilities crossed my mind. I panicked. I interrupted you and kept you from explaining your completely justified reason for leaving the hotel and your inspired way to fill your suddenly free day. I acted like an idiot because I'm not used to being scared. You forgive your brother for being an idiot all the time. Why don't I get any clemency?"

She sneered. "Because I expect it from him… it hurts more when you do it."

"I'm sorry."

"Not good enough."

"What can I do?"

"Why don't you start by explaining why you can trust me to deal with the cops at the casino, those fellowship jerks that were after Franklin Mott, and the witch just now… Why do you let me take the lead, trust me to handle that kind of thing and then treat me like something on your shoe…?"

"It's not a matter of the trust I have in you. It's that you're the only one I do trust. I don't trust anyone fully with your safety. I've been by your side every possible waking moment because I can't trust that anyone else is willing to die to keep you safe. Not even Pam."

"You couldn't have done anything anyway. You were dead. If something happened to me today, I'd have been just as dead if it happened in New Orleans or happened in the hotel."

"I hate that. I hate that I have to die. I hate leaving you unprotected…"

"You think for a second I liked leaving you there unprotected? I worried all damn day that anything could've happened to you. It's something we have to deal with… I'd like to point out that I didn't scream at you for having to die."

"I told you that I'm sorry…"

"Not done… I know that I'm only as free as you let me be…"

"Stop. When I mentioned trusting you with your freedom, I wasn't trying to remind you that I could treat you like an actual pet by taking your independence from you… I was referring to not giving you a set of finite safety measures…"

"I'm supposed to believe that threatening me with a short leash was the same thing?"

"Yes. I was too upset and worried, and by then furious, to explain it suitably."

"And would those _finite safety measures_ have included procedures for what happens when a weather witch summons a freak storm that cripples the cooling system, forcing the temperature up to 110°?"

"No… because there wasn't any way to plan for that… You did everything imaginable to see to my safety as well as your own. You did it because you are a very clever girl who is exceptional at thinking outside of the box… Suggesting that you needed to be given rules was fear driven… I know better than to think you would be careless… or do anything stupid."

"You're an asshole."

"How am I an asshole?" I knew of nearly a thousand ways, but I needed her to more specific.

"You hurt me like no one else EVER has… and you expect me to just forget it ever happened!"

"You can forget if you want to, but I'm going to remember very well that not giving you the chance to explain yourself made you threaten to leave me… Hurt goes both ways, Sookie."

"How could I possibly leave you? I'm stuck no matter what."

"No you're not. If you hate me so much, you could find another master. I'm sure Salome would take very good care of you. I want you, not a prisoner."

"I don't hate you."

"Then why are you treating me like you do?"

"Because I'm pissed and I'm hurt… I didn't do anything to deserve the way you went off on me…"

"No, you didn't. I can't promise to stop worrying about you, but I'm sure that I've learned my lesson about giving you a chance to explain."

"I wasn't trying to teach you a lesson."

"I'm not sure it matters if it was conscious or accidental. I should have listened because I trust you and you were obviously in perfect health… I was overreacting and I became more livid when you yelled at me."

"This is my fault?"

"Did I say that?"

"You said that I made it worse."

"No… I said that I was worse because of your reaction… However… since my _charming bonded pet_ has been force feeding me the silent treatment, I've had the chance to realize that you began lashing out when I did."

She gave me a level stare and relaxed marginally. "I flipped because you flipped?"

"By the time you blocked your feelings, the damage had been done…"

Her eyes dropped to my chest for a moment before coming back to mine. "I only did it because I didn't want to make an ass out of myself in front of Salome. Everyone else had heard us arguing."

"Why did you continue?"

She cringed and muttered sheepishly, "Because it pissed you off… and then because you told me to stop."

"You can still feel my feelings?"

"I have to do it on purpose, but yeah." Only vampires should be able to control a bond the way she could…

"Brat."

"I'm sorry."

"I warned you that this could happen, but I wasn't expecting for it to cause an avoidable argument."

"Why didn't I feel it like I did when you calmed me down?"

"Maybe because it isn't conscious."

Her eyes widened a little. "We've pretty much been in the same exact mood for days."

"So I'm noticing. At least no one was killed."

"I hate that we argued… I don't want to do it anymore."

I nodded, agreeing with her understatement. "You need to get it out of your head that being my pet is anything more than a shelter. It just protects you from certain elements… And I know what you've been through because of your ability and I'm sure that it's done some damage, so you need to do your best to believe that nothing scares me more than losing you for any reason. As you so elegantly reminded me earlier, _I could go back to fucking my fans_, but I'm even less interested in them now than I was before you came along. It was cruel of you to threaten to leave me… Don't do it anymore."

She pouted, "That sounded like an order."

"It was a command."

She studied me for a moment. "You're… you're going to use the IOU? To keep me from leaving?" As though I was dumb enough to think it would have the desired effect.

"No. I'm using it to keep you from _threatening me_ with leaving. I hate it. You said it just to be malicious. Hurting you was unintentional because my hasty reaction didn't allow for wording myself more clearly… I've apologized for my part of our disagreement. I'm promising to try to resist panicking about your wellbeing and I'm using the IOU to command you to not use how important you are to me against me when we butt heads."

She nodded, fighting back tears… As much as I hated to see her cry, it was a relief to see something other than rage. "I love you more than I've ever loved anyone… It scares me… I just… that's why I it hurt so much when I thought you were slipping… You were so upset… I thought I'd been snowed again… that you're just a better actor… I should know better… I'm sorry." More Bill-baggage… we should have kept him alive.

"Good. Now that that's settled, I think we're supposed to have make-up sex."

She smiled, laughing through her nose. "We're ok?"

"We're better off now that we know about situations that only enflame our moods… You can't stand the idea of being used any more than I'm interested in being without you. We can understand that in one another and try to avoid a repeat of tonight's performance."

She sighed. "I feel really stupid."

I raised my eyebrow. "I wouldn't know." She still had complete control over her emotions.

Her chin started to tremble. "I think I'm going to be sick…"

"I don't think…"

She shook her head and took her hands away from my arms to pat my chest. "No. Put me down… I'm feeling sick…"

The complicated part was putting us on the ground quickly without making her dizzy.

I stayed behind her until we were inside… When she ran for the restrooms, I went back to the table after taking care of the bill.

Everyone seemed to be staring at me. I couldn't be sure if they were all pensive about the call to the Queen or if they were worried about the way Sookie darted through the restaurant.

Pam was the only one I could identify with. She was distressed about the overall situation between Sookie and me… and very anxious to hear about the call. She raised her eyebrows. "Well?"

"We're just waiting for word from Salome… Then we have full approval for every facet and maneuver…" I nudged the back of Alcide's shoulder to congratulate him. "The Queen is practically gushing over the prospect of being married at the Seven Veils."

He gave a nod. "What's up with Sookie?"

"She's had too much to drink. She's feeling ill."

He shrugged and gave a chuckle in Paulette's direction. "Glad she isn't riding in my truck."

She gasped and threw a spoon at him…

He caught it and jokingly scowled. "You're spending too much time with Sookie if you're throwing shit at me."

Jason snorted as he started getting up. "At least she ain't hitting yet… Sookie got that shit from Gran. She didn't beat us, but she'd give us a whop before we could see it coming. She called it an 'attitude adjustment'… We should go on out to the cars and wait… When Sook comes out, don't ask how she is. She gets embarrassed whenever she drinks too much."

Alcide's brow furrowed as he relieved me from asking. "She drink a lot what she isn't working?"

Jason shook his head and cast a glance in my direction. "No. Only like 5 times that I've ever seen… She played with booze a few times to see if she could go numb. You know, ignore other people's thoughts… She said it didn't work though."

"She try anything but alcohol?"

Jason nodded. "Our mom put her on some medication when we was kids. She spent a whole summer propped up on the arm of the couch. She had to go off of it when school started because she couldn't stay awake. That was ugly… She went a whole summer barely hearing her own thoughts and Mom just took her of the meds cold turkey. Mom was pissed. Sookie was hearing stuff again when she missed the first pill. She freaked out and locked herself in her room. She couldn't stand any noise… She used to disappear into the woods for hours. It was the only peace and quiet she could get. Whatever those shields are, I don't think it's part of the mind reading… They got messed up by the drugs, but the mind reading was fine."

Pam actually felt sympathetic to Sookie's suffering… I'd turned her and gone to ground with her in relative seclusion near her home in the countryside… every new vampire has a complaint or two, adjustments that weren't fast enough. Even though she'd come to terms with it and come to use it in her favor, Pam's bane had been her enhanced hearing. She'd threatened suicide because of it… Knowing that Sookie had practically shared that experience warmed her to the telepath more than either of us expected.

As everyone else went to wait in the cars, Pam stayed with me.

"Is it safe to ask yet?"

"When she mentioned that she went to New Orleans, I got angry and didn't give her the chance to tell me why. I said something that she mistook…"

She rolled her eyes, interrupting before I could finish. As I let myself get irritated, I was further annoyed by my double standard since that's what I'd done to Sookie. "Don't bullshit."

"I told her that I shouldn't have trusted her with her freedom. She took it that I was reminding her that she's a pet instead of the fact that I was regretting not making myself more clear about staying close."

She started chuckling. "Have you made up?"

"Yes. What the fuck is so funny about that?"

"So that I'm clear, you panicked because you're in love with her and thought she was careless about her safety."

"I'm still waiting to hear why you're laughing."

"Because in the alternate reality we came head to head with, you two had the same damn argument… but she was the one who went crazy when he was dismissive of her safety concerns."

He had only mentioned an argument in passing. We hadn't gone into details. "I remember something about that. I'm still not amused."

"You should be. _You've really met your match_… Only you could figure out how to argue about something like that."

"Something like what?"

"Arguing with someone who already agrees with you and reciprocates the return. I'd like to point out what your mood has been like since I rose."

"I argued with Sookie and we pushed each other until I broke the bathroom door in to get to her. I'm aware of what mood I've been in."

"You know what it reminds me of?"

"Pray tell."

"It reminds me of what you were like before you met her."

"You're a pain in the ass."

"A pain in the ass that's happy for you. You two are going to argue; it's the first relationship either of you have ever been in…."

"No it's not."

"I'm not counting your human wife because you didn't choose her…"

"I wasn't either. I was talking about Sookie."

"I'm sure as hell not counting Compton."

"Neither was I. I don't have details on her other relationships…" I stopped myself when I felt Pam's surprise. "What?"

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Compton was her first."

"Everyone knows that he's the first vampire…"

"First anything, you giant idiot. She'd barely kissed anyone before him. She couldn't stand to touch them… You two have the same amount of time logged in the romance register since your marriage was based on support and procreation and her only other relationship was based on lies…"

"She told you that?"

"The other Sookie did… She said she didn't know if our Sookie needed to be punched or hugged… She said she was glad her Eric was her first… And felt sorry for this one because she lost her virginity on a con…"

"He used the word 'inexperienced'… I assumed that she hadn't been in **many** relationships because of her telepathy… and the abuse from her Uncle."

"If you hadn't already, you'd have to forgive her… The only intimacy she had before you was betrayal… She's going to carry that baggage around for a long time… It's not going to make her love you less, but every time you screw up she's going to be scared that she fucked up, let herself believe lies… Take it easy on her. She told me that she wished she could be glamoured to forget Compton ever 'happened' to her… She hates that he's still in her head."

"She told me that… After the meeting at the Abbey."

"She asked me to try… To see if it worked when she wanted it." Suddenly I was the one feeling ill. "When it didn't work, I thought I was going to cry for her, Eric… She hates that what he put her through chinked her armor."

"Am I allowed to mention how out of character that is for you?"

"Sure, I'll just mention that you love her more than you've ever loved anything and blame your little fae-witch for getting to both of us."

"Fae-_witch_?"

"You really are slipping… We know that she's part Fae because of her taste, yes? We know that telepathy is a witch talent… While you've been '_lost in love'_, I've been ruminating… Hadley, Jason and Sookie all have that allure, but Hadley seems relatively useless other than the possibility that she and the Queen have been skipping from plane to plane… Jason and Sookie are more active in their gifts. My hypothesis is that their faerie heritage came from their father's side of the family and their mother had something to offer to the gene pool. Perhaps a recessive or dormant witch aspect… Shopping with Paulette gave me the chance to ask… Her and Porter are both more powerful than their parents were combined. Porter is stronger… All of their aunts and uncles are powerless… Maggie, Porter's wife, isn't very strong at all, but Chris, their little one can get memories from objects. When he was 2, they received handed down clothing from family friends and when he wore a set of PJs he discovered that the other child's babysitter wasn't 'kid friendly'…"

"You think that Sookie ended up with telepathy as a fluke of genetics?"

She shrugged. "Jason accidentally agreed with me just now. He doesn't think that her shields and her telepathy are from the same thing either. Both Stackhouses are more of a force of nature and if they're walking mosaics of supernatural beings, that would explain it. I'm going to be looking for a witch in mommy's woodpile. I'd guess that one of their maternal grandparents was natural… _and strong_. Paulette agrees. I talked to her about it in the vaguest of senses."

"I would assume that Michelle would have noticed. Witches thoughts are different."

"With the lack of experience she has and the over stimulation of everyone around her? Besides, Jason can feel Sookie invade his thoughts. He has an active ability even if it is just being able to sense how trustworthy a person is. I think perhaps he could be just as unpracticed with his ability as Michelle. His forte seems to be easily misread as instinct. Oh yeah, and I'm pretty sure that Jason clued Sookie in about the weather-witch. She was wallowing until he started staring."

"You make some excellent points."

"_You know I'm right_ and I expect to be rewarded accordingly when you realize it. _Something platinum_."

"We'll see in Dallas, I suppose… since he'll be practicing."

She wiggled her eyebrows. "I'm hoping to learn a lot in Dallas… I'm going to go wait in the car."

When Sookie finally left the bathroom, she still looked ill.

She raised an eyebrow when she noticed that a busboy was clearing the table where everyone sat… "Tell me they didn't leave so we could fly home."

"They're waiting in the cars… We could fly if you want."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "God no. I'd rather not discover the velocity of sick. Thanks."

"You don't feel any better?" She was still being stingy with her emotions.

She started walking towards the door. "I probably would if I could get sick… I guess we should get going."

I surprised her by catching up to her and put my arms around her gently since she wasn't feeling well. "When was it decided that I would have to spend the night without you and why wasn't I consulted?"

"While we were driving to New Orleans… I suggested it because Paulette would've had a lot of logistical problems going back to New Orleans and then catching up to us in Dallas. She's just going to stay with me until the house you line up is ready."

"Stay with me tonight."

She shook her head as she put her arms over mine. "I painted myself into a corner. Paulette needs to get settled in and she needs me for the wards…"

"I'll stay in Bon Temps."

"My house isn't light-tight."

"Tomorrow night then? You'll already be in Shreveport."

"I want to, but that would be rude to just leave Paulette alone."

"That's more motivation than I need. I'll make sure her house is ready immediately."

"Because you assume I'll want to spend every night with you, huh?"

"No. Because I want to spend every night with you and want to eliminate obstacles."

She giggled quietly and tilted her head back to look at me. "Good answer… We'll figure it out."

"When Paulette moves out, maybe I can talk you into light proofing your room."

"Maybe I was already thinking about it… We think a lot alike."

I nodded. "Including that we don't want anything to happen to one another and that Compton gets too much press."

"Eric, I'm really sorry… I…"

I shushed her and kissed her forehead, understanding more than ever since my talk with Pam how easy it would be for Sookie to doubt our situation at times. "I know. I am too."

Most of the ride back to Shreveport was quiet other than sound of the keys on Pam's laptop and the occasional cursing of her satellite card. I assumed that she was shopping for the 'something platinum' she'd mentioned while I was going over her little hypothesis and couldn't think of a way to argue with her.

As it turned out, she _was_ shopping, but not for jewelry…

We were only half an hour from Shreveport, just passing the Kingston exit, when she handed her laptop to me… She'd been house shopping and found a pair of houses for sale in my neighborhood. Four bedrooms each. Both had a pool… one street over from mine and on adjoining properties.

One house was for the Simonette family. The other was for her since her house's location was too well known. She wanted to keep her old house and use it as storage and a 'love shack', but needed a new resting place. She rattled on for the rest of the drive about the perks of having a house so close to mine. Every argument I made against the purchase was bullshit and she knew it. After waking up the real estate agent with the listings, Pam excitedly texted Paulette about her appointment to look at the houses.

The house was how it was left, as it always was. The only difference was that there were several small packages on the kitchen counter that Bobby had been instructed to leave before he was fired. Alcide and I were still unloading Pam's 'precious cargo' when I finally began feeling Sookie's emotions.

I'd taken my ring off only a few minutes after Paulette took the ramp off of I-49… It hadn't taken long for the ring to turn the growing space between Sookie and I into an ache… I'd snuck the ring back onto my finger as we entered Shreveport, but I actually felt like I was being pulled to Sookie… Like she was 'calling' me and it was all too tempting to follow the pull… As it was, the ring pulsed in my pocket.

But as I began feeling Sookie again, I wanted to be close to her all the more. I needed to know why she was feeling the way she was. I'd thought we'd talked through our problem, made our apologies and promises…

Rage, depression, hatred, shame and fear… and drunk… she'd managed to dam up all of her feelings including her intoxication. It was intense enough that even with our distance, I'd gotten lightheaded enough to sway.

I was anxious to call her and to not call her.

Judging by the distance, she'd only just gotten to Bon Temps and I was worried that she was starting to second guess my apology.

I had to force myself to wait until Alcide left.

She sounded sleepy when she answered. "Hey."

"What's wrong?"

She was quiet for a moment and I finally heard a door close. "I'm a hateful bitch… and an idiot… I hate that I hurt you. I don't want you to turn me. I don't want to be like this forever. I don't want to be horrible eternally." New baggage… _Of the Hadley variety_.

"All of this you're feeling is directed at yourself?"

"I can't not be pissed at myself. I'm going to wallow… I screwed up big. I wish tonight didn't happen."

"We can't undo anything. We could salvage what's left… I can be there in 20 minutes."

"No… With my luck, someone would shoot you out of the sky."

"It wouldn't be the first time. If you don't want me to come to you, then what are you wearing?"

She snorted, "Jerk."

"Brat."

"I'm not a brat."

"You're _**my**_ brat."

"You might want to look into getting a refund."

"No, but I am getting the extended warrantee."

"Why bother?"

"Because I want you. I don't have any intentions of letting you go. You're mine. You always will be... Get some rest. I want you to be in a much better mood when I rise."

"Are you ordering me to cheer up?"

"Yes. I like feeling your good mood."

"What if I can't?"

"Then you'll have to face the punishment."

"Oh really?"

"You'll either lighten your mood or you'll have to face being dressed by Pam for a week."

She laughed, "After what I did to her while she was dead!? _Are you high?"_

"I might be slightly drunk thanks to you… You're laughing."

"Yeah. I am… _thanks_… I'll see you tomorrow night." Not soon enough.

"Good night, Sookie."

I moved through my house autonomously, for the rest of the morning… laundry, unpacking, repacking, emails and voicemails, Paulette's list…

Until Pam and I crawled into my bed, all I could think about was how to convince Sookie to start staying with me by the time we got back from Dallas…

Not having her with me didn't feel right.

Being 'home' did nothing for me other than remind me that Sookie was too…

I'd felt more comfortable arguing with her in a parking lot than I was in my own bed.

And it was amplified by the loneliness Sookie was feeling.

She seemed to be just as fucked without me as I was without her.

The difference being that Sookie wasn't forced to listen to Pam chuckle at her until dawn took her just before it took me.


	19. Chapter 19

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 19**

**Do Over**

I rose to an irrational nagging. Confusion and anxiety. The insanity would have been crippling unless the source of it had been on her knees next to me.

The weary grin on Sookie's face was still a welcome sight, but it could have had something to do with the plunging purple tank top and skin tight denim shorts she was wearing.

I put my hand on her knee and slid it along her thigh. "You missed me enough to track down my resting place?"

She shook her head. "I didn't… I… I dozed off on the couch at Alcide's house. We went back there instead of going all the way back out to Bon Temps when we got done with errands… I woke up here, curled up with you."

"You fell to sleep in one place and woke up in another?"

She nodded. "I didn't leave the room because I wasn't sure if the room past it is light tight, but I think it's happening again."

I sat up, looking at the bed beyond Sookie. "Pam? Where is she? She was right here when I died."

Sookie shook her head. "I don't know. It was just the two of us when I woke up."

"Is there anyone here?"

She shook her head again. "I can't feel anyone."

"Have you looked around to see if there are any hints?"

"I didn't want to invade or anything… but I did use the bathroom. Do you usually keep toilet paper?"

While I tried to collect myself, I noticed a few things that she wouldn't… The sheets on my bed were black and I'd gone to rest on white ones. If Sookie was spending any amount of time at my house, _I'd need black ones too_ because blood wouldn't stain them. There were two laptops stacked on the desk next to my computer monitor. I hadn't unpacked mine last night and Pam's was covered in rhinestones. And on the nightstand I never used because I was never on that side of the bed, was a second charging cord for a phone and an old copy of Jane Eyre. "No. I don't keep toilet paper in this room… that book, on the desk, it doesn't belong in here. Go see what it is."

When she left the bed, I did too... My bathroom had everything from Sookie's soaps and toothpaste to a small jewelry box on the counter and her makeup bag in the cabinet… My closet was full of my clothes _and_ a full wardrobe of Sookie's things… Because we'd been staying in a hotel, Sookie's things sharing a closet with mine hadn't been something I'd spent any time thinking about, but… In my house, my closet in my resting place, seeing Sookie's clothing mingling with mine, I was surprised by how welcome the sight was. It wasn't just a change of clothes or two. There was far more of her apparel in my closet than there had been at her own house.

She'd been quiet as she leafed through the book… "This is either a brilliant hoax or you're right and _something_ is happening again."

She didn't answer me. She took the book and went to sit on the bed listlessly. I'd been too curious to notice what the book had done to Sookie's mood…

"Sookie, what's in the book?"

She whispered, "It's an album."

"What's in it?"

"Gran… Eric, _my Gran is in it_."

"She would be…" It would make sense for her to bring that sort of thing to my house when everything pointed to her living with me.

"No… This isn't mine… This isn't… She never… These pictures are of…" She was having such a hard time making herself say anything, I went to sit next to her…

She was mindful enough of my interest that she started at the beginning again… I watched her flip through the pages… Her Gran, Jason, Pam, Hadley and I were all posed for various pictures in a cemetery…

There was a formal affair that we all attended. Mixed in with the pictures of all of us dancing or socializing with Hadley were a couple candid pictures of Compton dressed like a transvestite bride. It was ridiculous and I couldn't help but laugh…

Several pages that seemed to chronicle construction at Sookie's house… What seemed to be the remodeling of the porch and installation of a suite of safe rooms…

More posed pictures of what would've looked like a vacation if it weren't for the fact that the smiling people were at the Texas School Book Depository, the Cowboys' stadium and the Dallas Aquarium… They'd squeezed sightseeing into what seemed to be the business trip Sookie and I were about to take.

There were pictures of Sookie and me with her family, at both of our houses… Pictures of a little boy in four different bedrooms and smiling in each of them. What seemed to be swimming lessons and a 'movie night' that included Pam and Bubba… Sookie smiled and called the boy lucky to have vampire friends since she couldn't ever get any enjoyment from watching movies with friends.

It was an album of everything that could've happened if I hadn't kicked one fucking fangbanger… One useless fucking idiot who couldn't keep his hands to himself…

She whimpered, "If I hadn't fallen for Bill's bullshit…"

I wasn't sure how to start trying to convince her that she wasn't to blame. There didn't seem to be a way to keep her from hating herself. I didn't want her to suffer, but I was trying to convince myself that what was done, was done… Guilt wasn't something I had any practice with. Especially when I was the one feeling it.

I must've floundered for a while, watching Sookie go back through most of the album again before my phone began ringing from the nightstand.

When I saw that Sookie's house was calling, I let her answer it… I was hoping that it would be her grandmother to be honest… Some sort of contact with her.

"Hello?"

"Well, my little faerie, you've done it to me again. Do you have any idea of how disorienting it is to rise 40 miles from where you die? Nevermind. You will eventually."

She actually giggled. "Um. Which Eric is this?"

"How the hell do I answer that question?"

"Do you wear a wedding ring?"

"Yes… Which Sookie is this?"

"You came to my house and we went to Fangtasia together. How many have you met?"

"Three. Mine, you and we don't want to talk about the other one quite yet. Where are you? Have you seen hide or hair of mine?"

"We're at your house. My Eric is with me. I haven't seen another me. Where did you wake up?"

"I rose at the Bon Temps house."

Sookie gasped. "How!? Are you alright? Where were you?"

"In the suite of vampire safe rooms we've added. I'm going to assume that you haven't renovated yet. _You should_."

She sighed, "As soon as I have the time. We've been crazy busy… I napped on Alcide's couch. Would it make any sense for her to be there?"

"You ask as though any of this makes sense. Is the family there?"

"The house is empty."

"Adele and Hunter should be home soon. They know about our little cross-overs so feel free to visit. I'll be there in 20 minutes. I'm leaving now." As soon as I heard that we should be expecting Adele, I went back to the closet and started dressing.

"Where would they be?"

"Alcide probably just took them shopping. I'll be there soon."

By the time he hung up, I was dressed and had my hand out to take hers.

She didn't seem to understand that I was excited for her to get to see her Gran… Knowing how much losing the woman pained Sookie, I was as anxious for the meeting. If we could learn to control our strange circumstances, Sookie could have her back in part. It would be better than nothing… It could bring some peace to Sookie.

I'd carried her up the stairs since she seemed apprehensive and set her on the counter in the kitchen… More subtle additions. We'd passed a sofa just outside of the bedroom door that had a pillow and blanket neatly stacked on one end and the kitchen counters had a collection of pink appliances and there was a large bowl of fruit on the bar next to a basket of drawing supplies.

"Are you going to be alright? To see your grandmother again?"

Her eyes welled and her chin trembled. "I don't know… Why are you so… If I didn't know better, I'd say you're excited."

"I am. I know how much you miss her. You don't have to settle for talking to her headstone. You can actually hug her."

She nodded, focusing on her knees.

"If nothing else comes from this bizarre thing that happens, you still get to see her from time to time. I'd be even more excited if we could figure out how to make it happen instead of randomly rising up like this."

"You're serious?"

"Of course I am. Losing her was horrible for you. This way you still have something. More than a cemetery plot at least. I think we could make it happen…"

"What if this isn't real though? Honestly. This could be a strange joint hallucination because… Well, no one knows what happens when Faries and Vampires get together. It could be something… what if it's because of blood exchanges or something?"

"Then that would make us figments of someone else's imagination since we hadn't shared blood yet when it first happened to us."

"I guess you're right."

"Of course I am… but would it matter?"

"What do you mean?"

"If this is all just an elaborate hallucination, would you care? You would remember it, enjoy it while it's happening. Smell her, hear her… I'd accept it."

She nodded thoughtfully. "Accept it…?"

"When I was made a vampire, I never saw my family again… Being a vampire, I didn't even get dreams about them."

"You'd have taken anything you could get, huh?"

I nodded, wishing I hadn't brought up my life. "We had to walk away. There wasn't a choice… I want you to think about seeing her again in terms of living too far away to visit often… but you're lucky that you get to visit."

"Instead of thinking about being responsible…"

"That wasn't you. That wasn't your naiveté or Sophie-Ann's curiosity or Hadley's melancholy. It was Bill Compton and his attempts to exploit you to help elevate himself past his worth. You're allowed to hate him, but do it later. This Eric and Sookie only spent a few hours with us… We don't know when this could happen again. If you waste this visit, you could miss her entirely given her age. Enjoy this visit while we're here so that you don't regret anything later."

She nodded, taking me very seriously.

"This is an _opportunity_… not a funeral, yes?"

She gave another nod as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Yeah… yeah. Absolutely. You're right." Her look was resolved even though she was full of doubt.

"Try harder to believe it."

She reached up and put her arms around my neck to bury her face under my chin. "I'm going to need you. I'm going to need your help."

"You want me to push you?" After what we had done to one another the night before, I was close to asking for her request in writing.

She nodded without pulling away from me. "Please?"

She hadn't let go of me. I could feel her trying to control her mood… If she'd just gone numb, she wouldn't have been able to enjoy her chance at seeing her grandmother again and she didn't want to squander the occasion… I didn't have to mention it. She knew.

When the garage door motor turned on, her arms tightened and for a split second, she felt like she was going to hide.

There wasn't any noise from a car… as I listened, it seemed as though whoever it was that came in through the garage had been on bikes…

I could feel her…

The 'old' woman had a presence that couldn't be ignored. It wasn't supernatural… It was more like being in the presence of someone who took their experience seriously.

When she walked into the kitchen, she huffed, "Little girl, you best get your rump off my counter. No one wants your butt for dinner." I almost told her to speak for herself.

I whispered to ask Sookie if she was going to be alright if I let her go and waited for her to nod slightly before I stepped back.

Before Sookie could push herself off of the counter, her grandmother tackled her for a hug. "My stars! Which one are you?"

Sookie sobbed against her grandmother and I felt like I was choking on the grief she felt. It didn't escape me that the woman instinctively knew that she wasn't looking at her Sookie.

While Sookie explained who she was, there was a light tug on the front of my pants. There was a toddler looking up at me fearlessly. "You don't know us, huh?"

"No, but I've heard of you. You're Hunter, yes?"

He nodded. "We're friends."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. Why aren't you taking care of another me?"

"I haven't been told about you yet."

He giggled. "That sounds funny."

"I know. I understand you have the same talents as Sookie."

He shook his head. "My shields aren't as strong as hers. I have to borrow hers or use a vampire bubble."

"They should get stronger though, yes? Now that you're getting some coaching."

He let a smile pull at the corners of his mouth as he nodded. "They are… Sookie says I might be able to go to school."

"Stronger shields will make things easier for you than they were for Sookie."

"And when I have a hard day, I know Sookie will get it. Daddy never did… Barry says I'm very lucky."

"Who is Barry?"

"Another telepath. He belongs to Sheriff Stan now."

"You found another telepath?"

He nodded. "In Dallas. He thought that that I packed rocks in my bag and it made an echo." Funny.

"That's what Sookie said it sounded like when she found a telepath in Baton Rouge."

"Another one!?"

"It seems like telepaths can hide from everyone but each other."

He was in the process of agreeing with me when he left to dart out of the kitchen area and then through the dining room's patio door… When he came back, he was being carried by the other me. Hunter's ability was honed enough to have sensed a flying vampire's approach. _Impressive_.

The other me smiled in Adele's direction. "At least someone is excited for this to be happening again."

Adele laughed at him. "At least you have your own clothes this time. Sookie will probably get back in Alcide's sweats."

He gave her a nod. "There have been worse things. Thank you, Mary Sunshine."

Sookie giggled when Adele stuck her tongue out at him. "So where is Sookie?"

"She's on her way… Did Alcide actually leave when there was something 'better than cable' to watch?"

Adele shook her head. "No. He was going home to get ready for some hot date when he left a couple hours ago."

He raised an eyebrow. "Then where were you when they rose here?"

"We rode our bikes over to Paulette's so that Hunter and Chris could play while I helped Mags with sewing her new curtains."

He glared at her. "If I had known you'd traipse around unprotected, I would have moved Paulette to somewhere across town. Next time, have Alcide drop you off and call me for a ride home." Sookie scowled at him for reprimanding her grandmother, but Adele took it in stride…

She smiled and pecked his cheek. "It was spur of the moment so I didn't think anything of taking our bikes. Next time, I'll do that."

"Thank you… did everyone catch up while I was flying _all the way_ from Bon Temps?"

Sookie nodded and asked where a restroom was so that she could wash her face…

Once she was gone, I found myself on the receiving end of a questioning look from the other me. "Why doesn't she know where the restroom is? Is she still being uncooperative?"

I shook my head. "Far from. We only returned from traveling last night. She hadn't been inside the house until she woke up in my room."

He groaned. "_My room_… Has this happened to you other than to meet us?"

"No. Have you learned anything about it?"

"Not really. Sophie-Ann has experienced it several times because of Hadley. I have a copy of a journal she's made notes of her 'adventures' in. Adele has it memorized. We'll make copies… There doesn't seem to be rhyme or reason…"

Adele interrupted, "Except the sleeping… Sookie and Hadley were sleeping and woke up to the craziness with y'all. It's never happened while any of you are awake."

He nodded and continued, "That would be the only common denominator."

"You said that there was another time for you… That you didn't want to talk about that Sookie."

"That was a spectacular evening. We laid to rest in Dallas and rose in Shreveport together and found her counterpart packing… Sookie and I tried to intervene, but she couldn't be convinced to not elope with Compton… He took her ignorant ass to Labrador and she refused to realize that they'd never be able to return since the Queen didn't approve. They were bonded. She was a lost cause." Adele agreed with a sad nod.

"What was the difference? The event that made things go differently?"

He shrugged. "We know that Jason died in that version. Sookie watched him bleed to death while trying to defend her from Rene. We didn't get any actual answers from that Sookie… She was convinced that Bill Compton was a saint and I listened from the yard while my Sookie yelled at her because every time my Sookie invited me in, the other uninvited me." He acted like Sookie's stubborn nature was foreign to him.

"Did she think yelling would help the situation?"

"My Sookie has very little patience for other versions of herself. She says that she's only interested in meeting versions of herself with 'some sense'… Between the way yours acted and Bill's puppet, I can see her point. Tell me yours came around."

I nodded, not sure of how much I should say in front of the grandmother and child. "She apologized for how she reacted when I took her home, in fact. She came around so quickly that I was convinced that she was just a remarkable actress."

Adele laughed, "Not Sookie. She can't lie her way out of a paper bag… Well… wait. You haven't known her for long so I guess you haven't bonded. Have you learned the difference between her smiles yet?" If the woman knew about bonding, then I'd been censoring myself for nothing.

"We've bonded… And the difference was something I noticed the night they visited us."

She patted my shoulder on her way to the refrigerator and started pulling things out, I assumed to begin preparing a meal. "Good for you then… I've got to say, I'm more than a little surprised to see you act so upbeat about this little skip." She pointed over her shoulder. "He hates it _with a passion_." I was '_more than a little surprised'_ over how familiar she behaved towards me. I understood that she was living with another version of me, but that by itself was unique. Then again, one granddaughter was a telepath, another was a vampire and her grandson was showing signs of having an extra-sensory nature… _why not?_

"I'd just talked to Sookie about it last night. With all of the changes she's faced in the past few days, she's still haunted by your death. When I spoke to the queen, I got the feeling that she'd been 'skipping' as well. I'm actually hoping that we can figure out how to make it happen, so that my Sookie wouldn't be completely without you."

"That's sweet… Is Jason being impossible?"

"Not at all. His opinion was a problem for less than a minute before he received what I've been told you'd call an attitude adjustment. _Hadley_ has been impossible." As Sookie returned from the bathroom, she tucked herself under my arm and put hers behind my back.

"Oh lord! What has she done?"

"She started an argument with Sookie… When Andre punished her for it, she lashed out by contacting Compton's maker… Lorena's attempt to replace Compton with Sookie failed miserably and Hadley is in a relative prison as punishment for her part."

"That girl! Damn if she can't find trouble like you can find stubborn women…" Very amusing _and too accurate. _Sookie gave a quiet giggle at the simple truth.

The other me interrupted, "Diantha and Gladiola were sent to end him, _not fetch him_?"

I nodded. "So Lorena decided to claim Sookie as hers and I ended her."

He chuckled. "They couldn't possibly die nearly enough for my tastes."

"They were ended in your version too?"

"We just returned home from Dallas a couple of nights ago. Stan Davis hired her for a clinic and she discovered from a local pet that Newlin had a vampire in custody that he intended to burn… _There was a hostage trade_. I have three vantage points of the burning if you'd like a copy. You'd have to keep it with you when you go to rest like you will the copy of Sophie-Ann's journal, but we know that you can take things along."

"After what he put Sookie through, I'm definitely interested in my own copy. I've found a perk of my own to these… Are you calling them 'skips'?"

"Adele is. I call them a pain in my ass…" Hunter giggled at his answer. "…She has an interesting set of theories. She's been too cocky since she figured out that mercury destroys witches."

I had to hear that, since I'd remembered too well her thoughts about the Bombay 'type' of blood. "And how did you do that?"

She lifted her chin and gave me a proud smile that I was already familiar with because of Sookie. "Too much folklore that said witches melt in contact with water and not enough that mentions how horrible they'd smell without baths… The complete lack of 'verified' witches in New England during the witch trials helped… the water there has high mercury levels. So it would stand to reason that they'd avoid the area if they could sense it or not be able to last long in an area where the water was laced with poison… At room temperature, mercury could look like water to anyone who doesn't know better. Two and two." There wasn't any mystery left to where Sookie would've gotten her aptitude for deduction.

I couldn't help but laugh. "So what are your theories regarding the 'skipping' that's going on?"

"Oh, I couldn't guess how… But if you think about it, you know… since every part of your life, _your long life especially,_ has been the same as his right up to the moment that he opted for an early dinner and you stayed on your seat, I think it's entirely possible for you to wake up in a different 'skip' every night until something changes to make you take notice."

I just stared at her. The idea was as bizarre as it was horrifying.

She chuckled at me as she poured a cup of juice for Hunter. "…Nothing would be different for you until you woke up in the wrong place… And I think… _honestly_, I think that it has something to do with the mood you die in... Y'all met up the night after I had my spell…"

The other me corrected sharply, "Heart. Attack. It wasn't a case of the vapors, Adele."

She rolled her eyes as she continued, "The other time they skipped was when Sookie and Bill were about to elope. Sookie did mention how tetchy you were when she refused to work for you the night before. When Sophie-Ann skips, it's usually a matter of state that has her figuratively tossing and turning… Did something happen last night?"

I nodded and Sookie tensed next to me. "We had a misunderstanding that got away from us. We argued and our moods affected each other. Because of Hadley's recent attitude, Sookie is concerned that becoming a vampire would make her perpetually hostile like her cousin."

Adele frowned at Sookie sympathetically as she rubbed her arm. "_Aww_, you don't have it in you to be mean for long. Don't let Hadley ruin your plans. You've never been anything alike. You were always a better person than she was. You'll be a better vampire too."

Sookie's lip trembled. "You aren't upset that I'm thinking about it?"

"Why would I be?" **That**. _That_ was the most surprised I'd ever been. Accepting that one granddaughter was turned as a last resort was one thing, but being supportive of one who was _planning_ to be turned was another thing entirely. I couldn't think of a soul that would be any less stunned.

The other Sookie _did_ arrive wearing Herveaux's clothing and while 'the family' laughed at Sookie's description of his reaction when he came from his room ready to go out to see Sookie napping on his sofa while they ate their meal. My Sookie thanked me with a grateful feeling every time I pushed to lift her mood since she was close to tears through most of the meal…

Since the hosting versions of us were expected at Fangtasia, a fact the he was bitter about once I'd mentioned how I escaped the task, Sookie and I stayed at the house so that she could enjoy Adele's company.

While the two of them retired to the patio with iced teas, I managed to fill my time.

I'd been volunteered to 'babysit' Hunter… I used 'my' laptop to make copies of Sophie-Ann's journal and Bill's barbeque… and on Adele's suggestion, I made notes on 'all things political and private' that had happened to us since our first 'skip'… All the while, Hunter sat at the opposite side of the desk and worked in primers… He had excitedly told me that he was 'all ready' for first grade and that 'I' was teaching him and Sookie Italian (by extension Latin) in preparation for their trip to Rome.

More odd to me than what had put Sookie and me into the situation of 'skipping', more odd than facing that Sookie and I could find ourselves in incalculable scenarios and trying to come to terms with the fact that we'd have to suffer variable after variable… The oddest part of the evening was that Adele told us that it was a 'normal night' for them…

When 'the family' hadn't been traveling, their nights consisted of dinner, followed by Hunter's lessons which Eric and Sookie had been tending to because Hunter could get answers from Adele's mind… on working nights, Sookie and Eric would go to Fangtasia and over their weekend, everyone would spend their time in Bon Temps, including Pam and occasionally Bubba.

Sookie and Eric hadn't spent a night away from each other since the night he took her to Shreveport to protect her from Lanier.

Since the 'telepathy clinic' had existed in Shreveport for their version of events, there hadn't been many minds to read so they called the house to offer some Q&A… they were grateful for my information about Paulette's charmed rings and Michelle's discovery… and I was grateful for the warning about Dallas's pitfalls and their discovery of Barry…

While they laughed at the idea that 'my' Pam and Jason had made each other their Flavor Of The Week, they explained that their Pam and Jason behaved like bickering siblings when they weren't going to bars to act as each other's wingman.

And based on what they knew and what I shared with them, Pam's theory about Stackhouse genealogy wasn't challenged. As a matter of fact, sharing the idea instigated a bout of brainstorming that only added weight to Pam's thoughts.

Since none of us were sure of what brought on the 'skips' or what caused everything to 'reset', it was suggested that when Hunter turned in, Sookie and I should too. They explained that when they returned to my house after their visit with us, they'd only been in bed for a few minutes before their Pam came to check on them. Since Hunter had taken to sleeping on the sofa just outside the door to my room so that he could borrow my bubble to 'have his own dreams', he might be a witness of sorts to everything normalizing.

It made sense. My only worry was that since Sookie seemed attached to the idea of staying, taking her away from 'Gran' wasn't something I was going to enjoy.

As I filled my time and Hunter worked more diligently than I would've expected of a boy his age, I'd felt Sookie moving around from time to time to go to the restroom or the kitchen, but I was more preoccupied with her moods. She was a walking contradiction. Delight and depression had married to cause some form of bittersweet melancholy… I could hear her laugh from time to time, but every joy was practically swallowed with misery no matter how hard I tried to compel her moods. I was beginning to question if 'skipping' intentionally would be in her best interest, but ultimately, I'd let it be her decision.

Even though it was after 1am, Hunter was still happily coloring in a workbook. He had made a game of explaining what was 'awesome' about vampires, so I found myself giving high points of telepathy in turn. He asked about Michelle and offered some information about Barry. The new telepath worked as a bellboy at the hotel they had stayed in when they visited Dallas. His shields were different from Sookie's in that Sookie's mind felt like mine. He described it by saying my 'bubble' was like floating in the pool with his eyes closed during the day. Light and practically weightless. Barry's shields felt more like laying in a hammock in the shade. If he pushed hard enough, he could get through them. Barry also had a talent for moods according to the boy. Barry's telepathy helped him feel the nature of thoughts which Sookie and Hunter were practicing.

Sookie's mood had darkened suddenly just before she and Adele joined us in the library…

She stared at me for a long moment before her chin trembled. "Gran's tuckered out. She's heading up to bed."

Adele sent Hunter to dress for bed and came over to kiss my cheek. "Thanks for taking such good care of Sookie. _I'll see you around_…" It was engaging to say the least, but Sookie's mood was spiraling too fast and she was resisting the help she'd asked for. She turned to Sookie and gave her another long hug and kissed her as she pulled away. "…You remember what we talked about, hear me?"

Sookie nodded, shaking tears from her cheeks to fall to the floor.

When Adele walked out, Sookie leaned against the doorframe and watched her leave and I was left to watch like a proverbial deer in headlights until she started choking between cries and reduced to hugging her knees on the floor…

I managed to think of grabbing the disk I'd made before I picked her up. I didn't bother with trying to convince her to walk. Every part of her ached.

Trying to talk to her didn't help because she was too grief-stricken to speak clearly.

Trying to force any amount of composure was useless because she was still resisting.

All I could do was lay with her and wait while she wept and sputtered into my chest. All the while I felt more pain and defeat than I had for the loss of my own family. The only 'bright side' I could think of was that Sookie wasn't hiding from me or blocking me from her feelings…

Waiting for Sookie to calm down noticeably had been the longest half hour of my life.

Gradually her breathing quieted and all she seemed to have left was tears. Her despair had even waned enough to consider her generally upset so I risked trying to talk to her again. "Even if we don't discover how to come back intentionally, we'll be back in time. It's only been 8 nights since the last time. It's bound to happen again eventually."

Her emotions became wistful again as she shook her head calmly. "No. We're done. I don't… I can't come back."

"What do you mean 'can't'?"

"Gran said that she wouldn't see me if we started skipping just to see her…" Sookie stopped to take a shaky breath. "…She reminded me of how sad we thought Mrs. Mason was when we heard she had a séance to try to talk to her husband… Gran said it would be the same thing… That even if I stay human and only live as long as she has that saying goodbye to people is part of life… letting go is just something everyone has to deal with. Even if we started skipping on purpose so that we can have Sunday dinners together, sooner or later I'd have to bury her too because Eric and Pam promised to not turn her… or keep her alive with their blood. She made them." Judging by what I had seen of their interactions, it would most likely be a very hard promise to keep… Even if my other self hadn't seemed so attached to her, prolonging Adele's life for Sookie's sake would have been a profound motivation to break that promise.

"But it could happen accidentally, like this time."

She sighed as she nodded. "It could… Gran made me speak my peace though. Just in case it doesn't happen."

"What did 'speaking your peace' include?"

"She asked me what I would've said. You know, if I had known she wasn't going to be around anymore… like we had the chance to say goodbye to Aunt Linda. I told her that I love her and miss her and that I was sorry that I got her killed by being with Bill… She told me she knew that and to be careful what I wish for…"

"How exactly does that adage fit your situation?"

"Because I always wanted to be normal… I got it in spades by dating Bill."

I pulled away to look at her and was only more puzzled by the serious expression on her face. "How the fuck is what he did to you considered 'normal'?"

She let herself giggle at my reaction. "Ok, first of all, if we luck out and get to see Gran again, you should spend some more time with her. The way she looks at things is just crazy sometimes… _but she's always right_. She dared me to name one person who'd never been lied to or taken advantage of. Then she reminded me of eggs having to get broken to make an omelet, kissing frogs before I found 'my prince' and that if I felt sorry for myself for having one bad boyfriend that I should visit just visit Arlene and her kids to remind myself that I was better off than she was… I almost forgot how annoying it was when she did that."

"To be clear, your grandmother condensed her murder and everything else that Bill is responsible for down to the notion that he made up for all of the lousy boyfriends you could've had if you weren't a mind reader."

She huffed, "That's exactly what she did… You know, when I tried reminding her that she wasn't the one who was stabbed to death in our kitchen, she told me I wasn't either and I needed to get over it because she didn't want me spend my life missing her instead of living… She said that my Adele was a lucky woman. She died after a long, full life. She had her share of laughs and tears and she knows for a fact that dying isn't that bad because she's talked to plenty of people who've done it."

"Sookie… did her heart attack cause brain damage?"

"No. She's always been like that. She can make huge events seem like nothing and find grand significance in the smallest of things. It can be infuriating… _But I'm always going to miss it_."

"Of course you will." Adele Stackhouse had been Sookie's only adviser, her only influence… Sookie hadn't just lost her grandmother violently… No. Considering how close, how important Adele had been to her, that Adele had been the only person to ever truly love Sookie… for all intents and purposes, Sookie had lost her maker. It gave new weight to the statement Sookie had made about her favorite people… I found myself feeling genuinely privileged that I was in Sookie's 'top 2'. For that matter, I had the brief thought that I'd regard Adele's counsel faster than my own maker's.

"She said I was lucky."

"Did you tell her about your Blackjack skills?"

She smiled. It was still small, but it was improving with every attempt she made. "She said that I could be bitter that certain choices made crappy things happen, or I could consider myself lucky… Her Sookie didn't lose her Gran and didn't get snowed by Bill, but…" She sighed as though she didn't know how she felt about what came next. "…but she said that since her Sookie didn't go through what I did, that she won't ever understand how lucky she was that you were the option. That Sookie doesn't know betrayal well enough to appreciate sincerity. That Sookie doesn't know being down well enough to appreciate her pedestal… No one believes in der Butzemann until their ankle gets grabbed. No one believes in God until they witness a miracle. She said that I learned a lot of lessons in a short amount of time and that her death was just part of my crash course. Her Sookie has a lot left to learn."

"Fuck. Sookie, I think _**I**_ might miss her."

She giggled and snuggled back under my chin. When I felt her mood lifting, clearing like fog I closed my eyes just to enjoy it and concentrated on the sound of her voice. It was still heavy from her crying fit; hours of weeping had put a frailty into her voice that was only just getting its life back. "I'll get to see her from time to time, in small doses, but she told me that I'm not allowed to hold on to her ghost. I'd make a miserable vampire if I couldn't wrap my head around outliving people."

"_**I am**_ going to have to spend some time with her during our next visit. She really is impressive. I can understand why losing her was so dramatic for you."

"I'll do what I can, but from what I hear, Hunter is up your butt unless you're at work. You're his favorite person… Well, Gran's too, but she didn't say that out loud."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You. He can't hear you and he isn't scared of you… Gran said that Hunter idolizes you…" The boy had been taken from his father. It would make sense that he'd latch onto someone. Since Hunter didn't have any way to know what kind of monster I could be, my quiet mind would make me the obvious candidate…

"I meant her."

She snickered against me. "The other you indulges her like mad… books and talking about history… She said that she never had half the interest in what Grampa had to say as she does you. That if she met you when she was still young and pretty, you'd have been in trouble."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Oh really? I suppose she was excluding that vampires 'didn't exist' back then."

"Psshh… like that would've mattered. She believed in vampires before y'all came out."

"Really?" There was no way that Sookie didn't feel my surprise.

"Yup. Maxine Fortenberry came over because she saw it on TV and told Gran all about 'bloodsuckers' in a tizzy… Gran told her 'well Duh, Maxine' why else would there be vampire folklore in every corner of the world… and she told her to keep ahold of her knickers because she'd bet she could think of a hundred other kinds of things that Maxine never thought existed because Maxine was too obtuse… Think about it, Eric, she raised a telepath."

"Good point."

The suddenness of the voice coming from behind me startled both of us. "This is what you pillow talk about? God, I'm glad your sex life is interesting enough to make up for it."

Sookie and I shot away from the mattress to see Pam laying where she had been when she'd died for the day. She immediately began looking herself over, no doubt to make sure that Sookie hadn't played another practical joke… All Sookie and I could do was gape. Everything had reset. 'Just like that'. I had to wonder if I would've felt it if I hadn't been preoccupied with Sookie's emotional state. "How much did you hear?"

Pam gave us a puzzled look. "Since Hunter was up your butt... Why does she get to say things like that and you growl at me for saying things are in your ass?" Because Pam does it when I'm already pissed about something and Sookie uses it as a synonym for paying special attention to someone. "….What the hell is wrong with you two? You act like you've seen a ghost. Why is Sookie crying? Is something wrong?"

My sheets were white again. My closet and bathroom were just as untouched by Sookie's items as they had been when I died that morning. My desk was empty. There was no sofa, no resting child waiting when I opened the door to my room… I could've said that it all _had_ been a dream if it weren't for the disc that I had tucked into the waist of my jeans… Somehow, while my eyes were closed, while I was worried for Sookie's condition, everything had corrected itself.

While I took a moment to look around the room, Sookie answered, "It happened again. This time I fell asleep at Alcide's waiting for him and Paulette to ward his place and when I woke up, I was here. You were gone. We visited them this time. I saw Gran and met Hunter… the other you called Gran to ask me if I was still a bitch. It's happened to them another time…"

"You didn't tell me?"

"They didn't visit us. They visited another version of me and I was bonded to Bill and eloping… That Eric was not a happy camper, but he did joke about keeping me…"

Sookie was interrupted by the ringing of my phone, leaving Pam wanting for more by way of an explanation.

I answered, knowing as soon as I saw the caller ID that we hadn't thought we'd be skipping so we hadn't explained it to anyone. "Herveaux?"

"I can't find Sookie. I left her alone in my house and didn't leave the property. Paulette and I have looked everywhere she could have possibly got to on foot. She must've slipped out, but I can't find her scent anywhere in my yard, nothing else either for that matter. Do you have any kind of bead on her because of that ring?" His panicked explanation was nothing more than an arrangement of growls.

"She's fine. She's with me."

He was quiet for the time it took for him to grasp that she wasn't in danger. "I'm going to kick her ass! That's it. That's my last fucking request before you kill me for losing her… _That little shit_… Paulette! She's fine. She went over to Eric's!"

"Alcide, calm down. No one's going to kill you. You couldn't have stopped her…"

"I could've given her a goddamn ride and I wouldn't have been freaking the fuck out for the last 3 hours! She said she was laying down for a nap. All she had to do was say something… We couldn't get ahold of Jason either. Anything could've happened!" Sookie whispered that he left his phone in the work truck because he'd broken several while on the job.

"You and Paulette should come to my house. We'll explain when you get here."


	20. Chapter 20

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 20**

**2740**

Even with Pam available to substantiate our claims, it took seeing the videos of Bill and Lorena's incineration for Alcide and Paulette to stop thinking Sookie and I had lost our minds. Even then, I'm sure it helped that their Alcide had used his own phone to capture one of the videos and he could hear his own voice and Paulette's in the background.

Paulette hadn't said anything. She only sat in the chair of my study that Hunter had called 'Gran's' and stared blankly while Alcide rewatched the bonfire. He apologized in case it bothered Pam or me that he was so amused by burning vampires even though every time I watched it, my smile grew. It wasn't what happened to vampires in the sun that he found so entertaining. It was a combination of who it was happening to and the circumstances since 'our' Bill and Lorena had both lost their heads. Either way, since her maker was long gone, that chapter was closed in two versions of our lives. All the while, Paulette sat quietly… She seemed to be trying to figure something out.

Even though Sookie's mood was better than it had been before Adele Stackhouse became part of her evening, it continued to improve while she and Pam 'played dress up' downstairs. I monitored their moods and came to the conclusion that Pam was getting a crash course on Sookie's time with her grandmother. Her improvement made me curious enough to want to ask questions, but I wasn't sure how to go about solving my curiosity without causing more upset for her. I'd already proven that I could accidently trigger the wrong response from Sookie.

Hoping to overhear something, I left Alcide with my laptop so that he could amuse himself. His twisted sense of humor might've been almost as warped as mine.

There was no talking… When I walked into the room, Pam was zipping Sookie into a 'dress' that was so short, it was probably sold as a blouse. Considering that the snug fit and cut showcased her breasts and the cantaloupe color boasted her tan, I wasn't going to complain… my hands would be on her thighs until I could get to the rest of her.

I didn't have any intentions of changing out of the T shirt and jeans I'd been wearing, but I needed the excuse to be in the room… even if changing into almost identical items made Sookie giggle and Pam remind me that men's fashion was unfair.

Sookie noticed as soon as I pulled my hand out of my suitcase with the tiny ring box and dropped her borrowed shoe.

"We were distracted last night."

She nodded. "You aren't going to tease me with it?"

I chuckled and put the box in her hand. "Not tonight."

She opened it so slowly that the box creaked. She looked somewhat stoned, maybe even glamoured as she stared at the ring inside. "Papillion is butterfly?"

I nodded even though she wasn't looking at me. "And bleu is your favorite color."

"Why butterflies?" She didn't seem disappointed, just curious, but I was still confused about why she'd have to ask.

"The Butterfly Effect… it came up several times and I thought it was fitting." I was starting to wonder if she might not be happy about the ring including diamonds even if they were small accents.

She grinned and finally took it out of the cushion to slide it onto her finger. "You're right. _It is fitting_… Wow… It's… It feels heavier on my finger than it did in the box."

I nodded. "Mine too."

"Ummm… when you're wearing the ring and I'm this close to you, does it feel like I'm in your chest?"

I was nodding when Pam blurted, "_Congratulations_. You two are so disgustingly sweet that you've made me the world's first diabetic vampire… would you stop romanticizing and get ready to go."

Sookie stared at the back of Pam's head for a moment, and then questioningly shook her head slowly.

I shook my head to answer her... No. No, _I didn't_ get the same sensation from Pam's ring.

Sookie's eyebrow was still raised when Alcide shouted for us from the kitchen door. "Hey y'all, ummm… I think I thought of something… about that skip thing." He barely waited long enough for us to get to the kitchen. "Alright… so that MP4 of the news footage takes a while to load, right… I noticed that diary or whatever in the window underneath it. I would've stopped reading it but the only line I saw was the one that said Granny…"

Sookie corrected, "Gran."

"Right. Sorry. I called mine Granny. Anyway, Gran had a heart attack…" We both nodded, hoping he'd get to the point since he was so excited. "She had a fucking heart attack the night before they came to see y'all… They get here and your Gran wasn't so lucky."

Sookie locked onto his presentation instantly. "You think that there's a connection?"

"Well, I wouldn't, but… Ok… the next time they did it, was…" He started laughing again. "The night another you eloped with that Compton dude… then he shows up with Lorena in Dallas to stir up shit since he was banished from Louisiana and ends up toasted in trade for that hostage… I went back and skimmed… The Queen skipped after her Hadley died and saved a version of her and the baby… So… I mean what did y'all do during this skip? I'd bet that whatever it is will have something to do with something that happens in the next couple of nights."

Since Sookie had spent her evening, seemingly getting some much needed peace from visiting with Adele and we knew that couldn't happen again… It left only one possibility in my mind. Sookie and I spoke in unison, "Hunter."

Trying to prepare for the infinite number of variable scenarios wasn't possible. My first thought was the connection between the two realities. One had a living Adele, but in our version she was dead… Their Hunter was quite well and it was possible that something could've happened to 'our' Hunter since we'd been too busy to research his life.

I began bracing myself for more of Sookie's tears, knowing that anything could've happened to the boy.

Jackson Herveaux and Colonel Flood were both waiting in the gravel parking area of Herveaux & Son when we arrived. While the career military 'man' stood in a formal stance, Jackson paced like a raving lunatic. His behavior only seemed to get more erratic when Alcide's first order of business was to leave his truck and go directly to Sookie's side of my car where he led her over to me and flanked her as we approached with Pam and Paulette just behind us. He greeted both Weres with the same respectful, yet level stare. Even if Weres healed quickly, Jackson Herveaux was still looking much better than he could have. Swerenger's goons had taken it easy on him.

Flood gave me a civil nod. "Sheriff."

"Packmaster. Is something wrong with your friend?"

He glanced in Jackson's direction and rolled his eyes. "His nerves are getting to him. He isn't sure that cooperating with you won't get him or his family killed."

"Has he come up with another way to settle his debts?"

Flood shook his head. "That would be a negative. Your offer was more generous than he deserves. That's why he's questioning it."

"Ah. Then to settle his curiosity, he should try to understand that I don't have a generous bone in my body. I do have an ulterior motive… Sookie's guard can't exactly focus on her safety if he's preoccupied with concerns for his sister because his father is irresponsible enough to gamble with vampire money. I want Sookie's security. Our arrangement is making sure that happens. Are there any more questions?"

Jackson stopped pacing to stare at Alcide for a moment before turning to me. "Why should I believe you?"

Jackson didn't know that I was moving until I had him by his throat with his back on the gravel under us. "Because you sloppy piece of shit, some of us know better than to take risks that would affect those we care about. I can kill you in an instant and claim your debt when your insurance pays out, but that wouldn't exactly guarantee the safety of my pet, would it?"

His face was red and swelling from his struggle for air. His only option for answering was shaking his head.

"Make no mistake about it. There are thousands of variables for how I can get my money back from you. Your son is the reason you are getting off as lightly as you are. Without his part in _**MY**_ interests, you could find yourself running errands of questionable morality and outcome. And if I were a betting man, I might put you in a crate and take you to New Orleans for some sport. I hear Quinn is feeling cagey. How do you think you'd hold up against a tiger half your age, wolf?"

He struggled to shake his head again.

"So you understand that my 'generosity' has nothing to do with you?"

He rattled his head enough to get his 'yes' across.

"And you know that our arrangement isn't written in stone and I can easily change my mind if you decide to be difficult?"

Another weak nod. His eyes were starting to cross.

"Because if I have to put you down to prove my point, I will."

He struggled to meet my eyes and judging by the look on his face he might have been realizing that his son and Packmaster had yet to say or do anything to defend him.

When I released his throat, he rolled away from me, choking to refill his lungs while I went back to Sookie's side. Alcide and Flood were both glowering at Jackson without giving me any reason to think they disagreed with the 'attitude adjustment' he'd just gotten.

Alcide was the one to offer a tour of the offices so that we would know what we were 'working with'. As Alcide led us from one room to another, his father was increasingly anxious.

When our tour went in the direction of the workshop, Jackson finally said something. "You said the office and the waiting area. Not the whole fucking place."

Flood and Alcide growled at him, but it was Sookie who said something. "Do you think that a vampire as old as the sheriff would've left such a gap in a verbal contract accidently? No. By seeing what the property has to offer, it gives you two an opportunity to negotiate for extra space on an as needed basis. Do you think the Sheriff wants to drag your debt out 7 and a half freaking years? Don't be a fool. Shut your damn mouth and HOPE he finds something useful, you territorial ass."

While I raised an eyebrow at her for being just as irritated with Jackson as I was, Flood and Alcide chuckled at him.

When the tour ended at the compound where all of the trucks and machinery were kept, Alcide asked which room we wanted to use for meetings… Sookie and I had spoken in unison to tell him that we wanted the conference room. I couldn't have been sure about her reasons, but when I felt her approval once we'd seen the room, I started considering it. My first choice had been Jackson's office, but only because he'd be irritated by the lingering scent of vampires… The conference room was more formal than the office and wasn't haunted by the sickening stench of lunches left in the garbage bin. It was close to an exit and buffered by a long corridor from the reception area for privacy. It was perfect for our needs.

While Sookie, Alcide and I situated in the conference room, Pam and Paulette went to the front of the building to unlock the doors and organize the amassing business.

Flood followed us. "Knowing what she does, how does Sookie work?"

"Internal combustion. No batteries required." Sookie apologized for laughing so loudly, but given how much her mood had improved, I enjoyed it.

Flood chuckled. "I meant fees and whatnot."

"That would depend on who's asking. Do you have a situation that a telepath could help with?"

He shrugged. "Word's getting out. Some of us wouldn't call a vampire for details."

I nodded. "The public at large pays $1000 per head. Their disclaimer includes that no bodies are to be dumped in Area 5."

"Does she offer group rates?"

"She worked for Salome for $20,000 per night plus expenses, but that was including travel. It would depend on the circumstances. You seem to have something specific in mind. Lying around a telepath is redundant."

He took at long look at Sookie and judging by the look on Alcide's face, he'd been the one to suggest the tactic, but still annoyed by the secrecy. She shook her head slightly, then nodded… several silent answers later, she smiled and told him 'we'll talk about it'. He returned her smile and gave her an appreciative nod on his way out.

I wasn't given the chance to ask Sookie about it before Pam escorted the insurance adjuster and the fire inspector to us. Sookie gave me a subtle wink and reassuringly stroked my arm as my cue to not worry about Flood's thoughts even if her mood wasn't hinting that I had anything to concern myself with.

Other than the fact that Sookie used my hand to let me know the pricks were being accusatory because they were hoping to be bribed even though they had no proof that I had anything to do with Fangtasia's bombing, the meeting was boring and nearly over when Pam interrupted with an 'urgent matter' and requested Alcide's presence in the waiting area.

Well before the 'urgent matter' had been brought through the door, Sookie tensed again. 'Oh Lord' was all Sookie managed to say in the moment we had before they entered.

Jason at the lead and Hadley's friend Jake just behind him… Curiously, a very anxious Hunter was walking alongside an unfamiliar man that I could only assume was his father. The tiny little boy with brown hair and big brown eyes immediately zeroed in on me as though he already knew me. Even though I didn't know the reason for the visit, I was relieved that we weren't getting more grave news.

I leaned to put my mouth to Sookie's ear. "How could I ever give you up? Look at how interesting things are with you around."

She giggled as chills rolled over her neck. She whispered back, "You say that now… Eventually you'll get bored with Stackhouse flavored excitement." Stackhouse flavor.

I sat back, smiling at her and spelled 'never' over the skin of her thigh before I turned my attention to the Were who was so tense his ears were flushed. "Jake, are you always wound so tightly? It can't be good for your health."

"I uh… I… Hadley's going to kill me for this."

"From what I'm told it'll be years before she's allowed out of her home."

"Out, yeah, but she's allowed to have company. Amelia called me. She went to see Hadley. Hadley was bragging about how stupid Sookie is. She apparently made some threats. Sookie didn't know better and thought the threats were against Jason here. She…" When he became quiet, Sookie grabbed my hand under the table and spelled out, R.

Her. Own. Fucking. Child. "Why?" I'd been just as surprised as the other me to compare notes on Hadleys… Theirs was self-centered, yes, but still tolerable. We came to the conclusion that Adele's life had to be the difference.

I waited for Jake to silently answer and have Sookie translate into my hand again. E

I whispered into her ear, "You deserve to be alone? Not the only Stackhouse. _The only telepath_."

She nodded, looking like she was on the verge of tears again. My evening just got better and better.

"So you went to Bon Temps to find Sookie and when she wasn't there, you found Jason."

He nodded, leaning away from Alcide when his anxious step forward was discouraged with a growl. "Hadley's nuts. If she keeps it up, Andre's going to kill her. I'm no tattletale. Working for Triple E, I know how to keep my mouth shut, but she's not right. The only thing I could think of was to bring them to you because God only knows if she set something up already. I wanted to get them out of the area just in case." Smart boy. It was a shame he cowered from Alcide. He'd make a decent guard otherwise.

"Calm down. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Go wait in the reception area while we tend to this."

As soon as he skeptically closed the door behind himself, Jason scowled at the rest of us in turn. "I'm gonna hold off being pissed that everyone a'you already knew about Hunter and Remy." How lucky for us.

The boy wasn't nearly as scared as his father was. "Hunter…" The father stepped forward and tucked the boy behind his legs defensively when I gave him my attention. "Is there any reason for us to watch what we say around you or do you already know exactly what's going on from everyone's thoughts?" The father's mouth fell open.

Hunter waited a second before he answered quietly. "I already know… My mom isn't dead. She's a vampire and she wants to hurt me."

"Do you know why?"

He nodded unhappily. "Because I can hear what people think and someone she hates can too."

Remy scowled at Jason. "You didn't tell me that!"

"Because Jake doesn't know he can read minds. I felt the kid poking around in my head. I know Hadley's history with Sookie. It don't take a genius to figure everything out."

"So you tell me you know who can help and then bring me to a vampire den? You must've been the 'retarded cousin' Hadley talked about, asshole!"

I interrupted and tried to hide how amused I was that Pam was feeling protective of Jason. "Nest."

"What?"

"Vampires gather in nests. Werewolves run in packs. Witches practice in covens. To the best of my knowledge, only bears and Boy Scouts assemble in dens… Hunter, would you like to draw or watch a movie on Pam's computer while we talk about how to see to your safety?" As soon as I said it, I hoped he'd choose drawing. I wasn't sure if Pam separated her animated movies from her porn (or her _home_ movies for that matter).

He smiled at me while his father continued to gape. "If I draw can I listen?"

I nodded.

"I'll do that then."

I patted the chair next to me and Pam left to raid desks for Hunter's art supplies.

Remy immediately followed Hunter, still scared beyond his wits, but Jason sat right next to Sookie, kissing her temple as a greeting. "Remy Savoy, this is my sister Sookie and that's Sheriff Eric Northman. He ain't gonna hurt Hunter. Settle your ass down."

"How does everyone know about Hunter? I've never told anyone."

Sookie and Jason looked to me. "Hadley's maker has a high profile. I met her while she was still pregnant. I only found out recently what became of the baby. I'd assumed he'd died when she was turned... I think what you need to concern yourself with is that you need to be able to hide your son from his mother."

"Why?"

"You were married to her. You should know quite well how irrational she is. She has a grudge against her cousin for nothing more than an argument. She's made an attempt on her life and when she was caught, she made plans for Hunter to stand in for her axe to grind against telepaths."

"This is crazy. How am I supposed to trust one vampire to keep me safe from another."

Jason spoke up. "Because he's more family than Hadley ever was."

Before I had the chance to think about Jason's proclamation, Hunter suddenly blurted, "I want to try."

Sookie giggled and answered my unasked question, feeling my curiosity. "He wanted to know how I can hold your hand and not get a headache. He wants to touch you."

"I'm going to set a rate."

"Bubble rentals? An amusement park for telepaths."

I scoffed at the idea and held my hand out for the boy. His father actually gasped when Hunter's hand touched mine.

With a relieved grin on his face, Hunter breathed, "_Nothing_."

Even as Pam reentered the room, with a collection of various markers and a stack of copy paper, he didn't let go. For that matter, he barely seemed to notice when she put them in front of him.

"Hunter."

"Yes sir?"

"Call me Eric. Pam wants an excuse to stay while we talk. If you sit in her lap while you draw, you can enjoy her 'nothing'."

Before she could argue, Hunter shoved his art supplies across the table and jumped out of his seat, grabbing her hand to pull her over to sit next to Jason.

I chuckled at the look on Pam's face as Hunter settled into her lap. She'd never had a child in her lap before… _and it showed_.

"Down to business… Remy, you need to leave New Orleans."

"How the hell do I do that?" He was still watching Hunter, awe written all over his face.

I was amused enough at meeting our own Hunter that I explained, "Like Sookie, Hunter can't hear vampires' thoughts. We're very relaxing for telepaths to be around..." Hunter agreed with me by giving an excited nod. "As for your relocation, I suggest you start with new names. Yours aren't terribly common. You'd be easy to find."

"How am I supposed to swing that?"

"Give it some thought and tell Pam what you want to change them to. She'll handle the rest."

He huffed out a deep breath. "And then disappear. Just fall off the face of the earth so that Hadley can't come after us."

"That's an option."

Jason volunteered, "Y'all can stay with me until you get set up. I've got plenty of room and there's carpentry work all over the place."

Sookie shook her head. "Not Bon Temps. We smell different. Before too long I'll have met every vampire for miles. Bon Temps is isolated enough that the connection could get made… _Eric?_"

She already knew I agreed with her she just wanted me to voice it. "Sookie's right. Beside's Hadley could easily have Jake reveal their location. Even if we don't tell him what is done with them, leading them to you would have her search Bon Temps."

Sookie looked at me with pleading eyes. "What would you do?"

"Shreveport."

Remy shook his head. "Why here? It might as well be New Orleans."

"Because I'm close enough that I could be at your house in a moment if there was a need. Because I can have your property protected so that nothing can get in without your invitation. Because I can see to your employment here."

"Are you serious?"

Pam added, "And I know of a woman who'd babysit without making Hunter feel like a freak. Maggie has a, I think the term nowadays is '_special needs child'_." Paulette's sister-in-law. Inspired.

Hunter turned to scowl at her. "I'm not 'special'!"

Pam actually smiled at him and whispered. "Her 5 year old has a 'special' gift like you do."

"Nuh-uh!"

"He can't read minds, but I'm sure they'll explain if you visit them."

Hunter nodded, satisfied with Pam's explanation. He was adjusting to the idea of reinventing himself more easily than his father.

"Remy? Thoughts?"

He shook his head. "I… I don't know. I mean… All I know about vampires is what I've heard… I mean… They have a reputation for being nuts."

Sookie leaned forward and gave Remy a very serious stare. "Remy… Your ex-wife, _Hunter's_ mother, my cousin is one of them. She's one of the unstable ones who does whatever they want to do. She was a temperamental and rebellious kid and she's nastier now that she has fangs. You have no choice but to do something if you want to stay alive. Going back isn't an option. She could glamour a servant to kill you both in your sleep if you stay local."

"Shreveport isn't that far away though."

"She's young as far as vampires go. Eric could glamour someone to walk cross-country and they'd do it, but Hadley's influence wouldn't last long enough to for someone to fly to Shreveport to harm you. It's a safe distance."

Remy stared at the center of the table. I couldn't really blame him. His world had crashed down around him in an instant. When he started to shake his head, Jason cut him off. "Leave him with Sookie."

Remy and Sookie both gasped, "What?" Saying that Sookie wasn't happy about being volunteered for the duty of caring for a toddler would be an understatement. Even though she'd seen firsthand that it was completely possible, she was no less thrilled about the concept than she had been when I'd first explained Hunter.

"Leave the boy with Sookie. He'd be with _family_…" He paused when he realized Sookie was trying to kill him with a look. "WHAT!? No one would say jackshit. You can help him with his telepathy too. With Supes there's too many variables to hiding him. Hide him in plain sight. Be public. Mags can still watch him when you're working and I'll pitch in and your guard even has experience with kids... Alcide, you got a nephew his age, right?"

Alcide nodded from his post at the door. "Yeah. But I'm starting to think _Tommy_ might be retarded… He doesn't speak as clearly as Hunter."

Jason snorted, "That's the telepathy. Sookie did that too. I remember… Mom used to freak out big-time. She'd go to the cabinet to get her baby food out. I guess Mom read the labels to herself or something. Sookie'd say 'pears' or 'peaches'… I think the hardest thing for her to say was 'applesauce'… sounded like 'appleshots'. She was little. Well, still on baby food."

Remy sighed, "Hunter did too. He asked for 'cookie cake' for his first birthday. He walked and teethed like normal, _all the physical stuff_, but he's already starting to read."

After giving the silent tension the chance to swell, Jason gave everyone a puzzled look. "Y'all stop being assholes. Admit the best thing for the boy **and his safety** is for him to be with Sookie."

Sookie threw her head back in frustration and shouted at the ceiling. "Jason! No one is saying that knowing another telepath is a bad idea. No one is saying that being with me is bad for his safety since I'm already guarded. But we have no idea of what kind of nightmare Dallas will be and no clues about what's going to happen in the next few months!" She punctuated her outburst by widening her eyes to remind him of the pending coup d'état.

"He ain't in school yet. He can go with us to Dallas. I told you I'd help. Damn." Sookie's sense of responsibility was battling with displeasure over being forced to take on yet another responsibility… I couldn't be sure, but I thought Hadley's safety was becoming a concern. Sookie might've been close to ending her.

Remy blurted, "I'm not giving up my son." Sookie enjoyed a slight relief knowing that Remy wasn't going along with having his son taken from him.

Hunter grimaced at his father. "Daddy, you know it's smart. It would keep me safe. And you're scared of me. They aren't." Sookie's moods were coming to her in spikes and she was starting to feel more than anxious. I'd learned too recently that letting her emotions get out of hand wasn't in anyone's best interest…

I took her hand and led her out of the room to speak privately. On our way past Alcide, he mentioned that he'd worn his 'smart pants' tonight. The wolf had definitely earned a treat, but I wasn't sure if a new collar or a Thai hooker was in order.

As soon as the door to Jackson's office was closed behind us, she growled through clenched teeth, "I want to scream."

I agreed, "The past 24 hours have been very demanding."

"You think?"

"Having the boy with us makes the most sense as far as his safety is concerned."

She huffed, "Us, huh? _Where is_ the halfway point between Bon Temps and Shreveport?"

"Ruston."

"I was being facetious."

"I know."

She put her hands to her hips and frowned with every part of her face. "What else do you know?"

"I know that I don't want to take the boy away from his father any more than you do, but that something needs to be done and Remy doesn't want to erase his life. There's a lot of merit to Jason's idea since we know in detail that it can be accomplished."

"Except this me doesn't already live with you or have Gran's help… I don't think I could do it."

"You could move in with me."

Her eyes widened. "_How can you say that after what happened last night_?"

"How could you doubt it after how quickly we learned from that mistake? _And_ after how we spent our early evening?"

"Are we back on taking Hunter away from Remy? I know he's just as scared of Hunter as my Mom was of me, but things are different. Now that he knows something about it he could come around."

"You still haven't thought about living with me."

"Yes I have. I've thought about it for a few days now. I didn't want to come home because I didn't want to be away from you… I don't think we should be considering moving in together because of a child though. Word could get out that you're acting too human."

I chuckled at the idea. "Fine. You'll move your things to my house when we get back from Dallas. Now on to the matter of the child."

She puffed out her cheeks and kicked my shin. "You giant turd!"

I laughed at the look on her face and took her arms to pull her to me. "Missing you was the last thing I thought about before I died. I hurt Pam's feelings by being disappointed to see her on my bed instead of you. How empty did _your_ bed feel?"

She closed her eyes to sigh, "It never felt so big…"

"So you're moving."

"I don't want to give up my house though…"

"Then don't. We should keep it warded and well stocked. We can use it when you want to get away. We might need to return to it from time to time because of the 'skips' anyway. Since you'll be living with me, you can make repairs without the workers getting in your way and Jason can tend to it."

"Hunter and Remy could stay there."

"The safety concerns would be the same. If something were to happen, I'd be 20 minutes away."

"So they need to be in Shreveport as a minimum."

"I think so. I could send them into Southern Unknown with new identities, but the father isn't willing and the boy would be just as unguided as you were."

"I don't like Remy."

"His thoughts remind you of your mother's?"

She nodded. "But at least he's _mostly_ blaming Hadley."

"Then I could publically announce ownership of Hunter and the boy could stay with us, visiting his father when time allows for it."

"On warded property with a guard."

"It's better than nothing."

Sookie and I weren't in our seats yet before Remy rolled his eyes. "Are you two done talking about my life?"

"Not quite. Sookie and I needed a moment to brainstorm…"

He interrupted, "So what are you? To her? Jason said that you're family."

"We're bonded."

"Like married." _Hardly_.

"It's far more than that. Marriage is a temporary human notion that can be undone… Moving on to the matter at hand… Sookie and I have come to the conclusion that you only really have two options..."

"What are they then?"

"The first is that you throw a dart at an atlas and move with new identities. The drawbacks of which include that if Hadley were to ever discover your location, both of you could be quite dead before any of us would know to help you."

"Great! I barely need to hear the second option since that one is so sexy."

"Your other option is to have Sookie tend to him on a daily basis. His daycare would be provided by a woman with an understanding of his ability and he'd travel with us so that he wouldn't be left unguarded. The drawback to that scenario is since you'd be living separately, you'd only be able to see him when schedules allow for it. You should consider relocating to Shreveport so that it can happen more regularly since we aren't in New Orleans often."

"He'd be safe and I could still see him."

Sookie and I nodded.

"Could his ability be used? I mean… exploited…"

Sookie shook her head. "Not on Eric's watch. I use my ability for work. I'm paid very well for it and Eric makes sure no one tries to take advantage of it. If Hunter wants to work as a telepath, when he's old enough to make that call, then Eric will make sure that's he's taken care of."

"How do you work as a telepath?"

"At the moment there are vampires filling the lobby who are paying me to make sure their interests are in the right hands."

"Really? Why not work for cops or something?"

"Because humans tend to think telepaths are charlatans or freaks and don't see the potential because they're paranoid about what we could be hearing. It's a rare ability that run of the mill humans can't understand."

Remy sat back from his aggressive posture and ran his hands through his hair. His eyes skimmed over the room erratically while he contemplated his situation. "No new names. No hiding. Everyone would know Hunter is a telepath, but he's under your protection."

I gave a nod.

"How soon?"

"Backdated. Going back isn't an option. You either disappear from here or stay. Hadley could have already set things into motion."

"Our things?"

"We'll hire a moving company to bring them to Shreveport. You should know that we leave for Dallas at sunset tomorrow evening. Hunter would need to go with us, but it would give you some time to settle into a new house and job."

"Doctor records…"

"We'll make sure you have the name of his new doctor so that records can be sent."

Remy buried has face in his hands and mumbled. "Hunter?"

The boy barely looked up from his drawing. "It's good. We'll be fine."

"You're sure? You'll be living with a stranger."

He giggled, "Daddy, we're _mind readers_. We'll _get to know each other_." He made an excellent point. I had the distinct impression that Hunter was simply excited to not be alone in his gift, just as Sookie had been to find Michelle.

"And you'll be around vampires a lot." Hunter's eyes lit up, pleased with the idea of silence.

I added, "More than being around us, he'll be living with one of us." Pam's mouth fell open when she realized I meant that Sookie was moving in with me.

Remy choked, "You?"

I nodded. "We'll keep him under the stairs like Harry Potter." Hunter cackled and Pam raised her eyebrow to remind me that she'd been the one to drag me to the theater to see that movie…

Remy wasn't as amused. "What are you going to do with him?"

"I have a very normal house. He has his choice of three vacant bedrooms. Did you assume I slip into a crypt in the cemetery at dawn?"

He cringed. "Well… _yeah_."

Pam and I laughed at the idea while I pulled my phone out of my pocket.

"Who are you calling?"

"Insurance."

"Like hospitalization?"

I shook my head while the phone rang. "Better." Remy concentrated his confusion on me as Andre picked up the call. "Andre."

"Good evening Northman. How did your Area fair in your absence?"

"I don't know yet. Sookie and I rose in a 'unique state of confusion'. Once everything reset we started our plans as scheduled but business has been waylaid by Hadley related excitement _again_."

"A unique state of confusion?" I'd quoted Sophie-Ann's journal, hoping he'd catch on.

"I wouldn't think I'd need to describe it. I've been assured that you've experienced it yourself."

"Of course… How many times has this happened to you?"

"Twice. I'm starting a journal in the case that we need to refer back to it later… None of that really matters for the purpose of this call though. It seems that Sookie's reaction to Hadley's threat was misdirected. While Sookie assumed Hadley meant for her to be the only living Stackhouse, we have new information that corrects the miscalculation. As it turns out, Hadley was threatening her own child so that Sookie would be the only _telepath_."

"Child?" Playing dumb wasn't going to do anything more than piss me off. He had to know that.

"Yes. I'm declaring ownership of Hunter Savoy and offering my protection to his father. The boy will be living with me and Sookie in my warded home. I'd appreciate it if you pass the word along to Hadley. My hope is that it would deter her from an act of aggression against the boy. I'd hate to upset the Queen and tarnish our working relationship by killing her child in defense of what's mine."

"You think that would be wise?"

"No offense to the Queen intended, Andre, but you know for a fucking fact that one telepath can accidentally be more valuable than 10 Hadleys on her best day."

"I'm assuming that you learned of Hunter via a crossing?" I preferred Adele's terminology. 'Crossing' sounded queer, like a sideshow gypsy expression… And it didn't escape me that he wasn't arguing with my opinion of Hadley.

"You assume correctly."

"And you're taking on the responsibility of the boy's safety and secrecy?"

"Safety, yes. Secrecy, no. We'll keep his origins to ourselves, but his ability isn't going to be hidden. The boy has talent and will be given no leash on practicing his ability."

"Publicity could make him a target of greed."

"No more than Sookie and Hunter won't be working any time soon."

"No. Of course not. He'll need a decade…."

"Andre, you forget old man, he won't be considered an adult until he's 18."

"I do forget. Society coddles them now. One decade or two, Sookie's services are more than we could've hoped for. You should turn her so that Hunter's coming of age isn't so highly anticipated." For Andre, that was 'gushing'.

"In time... What will be done of Hadley? Her vendetta is growing tiresome. I'm assuming that her dissatisfaction in Adele's death is enflamed by known possibilities." Knowing that Adele was alive and well in other versions irritated me, but it didn't excuse anything she'd done especially since it seemed as though she was erroneously blaming Sookie for everything.

"It seems to me that she can't be trusted. I'll discuss with the Queen limiting the few freedoms she has. Her witch friend is going to need to find a new tenant to say the least. How are you dealing with the father in this version of events?"

"Remy is as agreeable as you could expect in regards to turning his son over to strangers. He's relocating to Shreveport so that he's available to visit Hunter when our schedule allows it."

"A contingency that we didn't consider. He's been killed or glamoured in the crossings that we've made where the boy was already with you… Make sure to tend to the journal. We'll compare notes when we meet again. Expect to see Cataliades in Dallas so that he can register your new pets."

"Thank you."

"Get to business then. Call if you need anything."

Remy hardly waited for the call to end. "Who was that?"

"His name is Andre…"

Jason interrupted to take over the clarification. "He's like Hadley's brother. They have the same maker. He's a lot older and he gets stuck cleaning up her messes a lot."

Remy's eyes widened. "So what now?"

"Now, you'll go with Pam. She and Paulette will start making arrangments."

Remy's questions continued while we waited for Alcide to fetch Paulette and Jake. Hunter couldn't have seemed happier while I gave Paulette her list of chores and made Jake aware that I owed him two favors and that no one knew of his involvement in Hadley's defeat. Even if he didn't understand how he was blameless, he was still too busy shying away from Alcide to ask for more details.

While Remy went with Paulette and Pam, Hunter asked if he could stay with Sookie and me. He sat on my lap through dozens of meetings both telepath and non-telepath related with the promise to not listen to anyone's thoughts. Sookie hadn't been happy when I let him stay, but considering that the boy was going to be in our company for plenty of business, he needed to start exercising his shields and practicing with my 'bubble'. Bickering vampires and thieving pets would be at the 'soft' end of the spectrum considering what he could see and hear in Stan Davis's nest.

He'd taken a short break at one point to go to the restroom and Jason kidnapped him to search for food. He came back with Wendy's bags for Sookie, Paulette and Alcide and climbed into my lap to eat (and offer to share) his 'frostie'. Sookie had it in her to joke about not being sure how she felt about 'sharing' me. She told Hunter that when she found another telepath she made arrangements for another vampire bubble for her to borrow. I'd thought that she would've assumed (and correctly) that I wouldn't have wanted to be pawed. Finding out that she was being territorial was not only entertaining, _but inspiring_.

I'd been on the receiving end of several curious and/or amused looks as vampire after vampire was led to us that only became more exaggerated when Hunter felt comfortable enough to doze off against my chest. Sookie and I took turns explaining that I was starting a collection of telepaths in one way or another. One vulgar ass offered to buy Hunter from me since I already had Sookie… Being carried out by his hair and his dick and thrown into the gravel parking lot hard enough to embed a few rocks in his face had been enough of an 'attitude adjustment' for the prick to offer an apology. As I went back through the lobby full of gaping vampires, they were informed that I wasn't entertaining offers for my 'bonus telepath'… When I took my seat next to Sookie again, Hunter giggled and climbed back into my lap as though I hadn't just given him a reason to be startled as a minimum.

Maybe Sookie and her family of nonconformists would eventually stop surprising me, but I wasn't hoping for it.

It was nearly 2 o'clock when the final business matter left. Pam reassembled the 'A Team' in the conference room. She had seen to the moving company, made a reservation for Remy and Hunter to stay in a hotel for the night and called the hotel in Dallas to arrange for a suite for Sookie and I to share with Hunter. Paulette had called the real estate agent she'd met with during the day about an additional rental property, had all of the utilities set to start and called her sister-in-law to confirm that she was willing to provide Hunter's daycare when we needed it… Everything was set in motion and moving smoothly...

Unless you count that Alcide moped through the meeting because he'd wanted to go to Merlotte's for 'dessert', but we'd worked too late. I promised him a rain check. Antagonizing the shifter could become my favorite sport.

I sent Alcide home for the night and sent Pam on her 'merry' way so that she could spend some time with Jason since I was planning to tuck Sookie in myself... Hunter snored quietly until I set him in his carseat in his father's truck. He awoke startled and argued to stay with me for the night…

"I'm supposed to stay with you!"

"You will…"

"I'll get my stuff."

I had to dodge the seatbelt when he flung it away from himself. "You're staying at a hotel with your father tonight." Sookie's sympathy was noticeable from her stance directly behind me.

"I don't want to… I want to go with you."

"Tonight will be the last time you'll see him for a while. We don't know how long we're going to be in Dallas or if we're coming back to Shreveport as soon as we're done there."

"I… I don't… _**Sookie!?**_" The boy was shaking his head when he seized _my_ arm.

I started trying to explain, wondering if I'd said something he misunderstood, but Sookie stopped me. "It's going to be a long time before you spend the night with him again."

"Why not? If I'm going to live with him anyway?"

She tried to calm him down by reaching past me to stroke his hair. "We're coming to get you early tomorrow. We have a lot to do. We have to go shopping for stuff you need and…"

"No. I'm going with him."

"Hunter, you need to give your Daddy some time. He's seeing you off tomorrow…" He shook his head again and after a moment Sookie sighed and looked up to me. "Remy has nightmares about Hunter being a monster whenever Hunter uses his ability."

"So it would be safe to assume that Remy won't be having 'sweet dreams' tonight." Sookie's nod was calmer than Hunter's. "Grab your things then."

He looked back at Remy for a moment then back to me while Sookie tried to blink away how surprised she was. "Really?"

"Not if you waste time. You need to get some sleep. From the sound of things, you're going to be very busy tomorrow."

When he reached for a dinosaur backpack, Remy stopped him. He'd been present but silent while his son begged to abandon him for strangers. That had to be a blow to his ego. "Are you sure you want to go with them?"

"They said I could go! I don't want your dreams!"

Remy hung his head and sighed.

Sookie quietly cleared her throat, grabbing the boy's bag so that he could climb out of the truck. "I know you can't help it, Remy… but he wants to have his own dreams."

"You'd know right?"

She nodded. "My father's dreams were about making ends meet. My mother wished I wasn't born… We'll come get you in the morning so that you can spend the day with him before we leave."

He shrugged solemnly and nudged Hunter's 'booster' to me…

While Remy pulled out of the parking lot, Sookie folded her arms and stared at my car. "How are we going to do this, Mr. Two Seater?"

"He's small. He'll fit in the trunk." Hunter cackled, making it very hard for Sookie to seem annoyed. "Fine. _You_ ride in the trunk."

She faked a scowl and reached into my pocket to grab my keys and punished me for making jokes by tickling my thigh. "I'll drive. You follow us."

"I've never let Pam drive my…"

She pouted and huffed, "I'll call a cab since you don't want me to…"

"No. Drive. I'll stay right over you."

She grinned and stretched up to kiss my cheek. "K. We'll see you back at the house."

I quite possibly scared the shit out of Sookie when I landed in the driveway as she was pulling in, but I could hear Hunter cackling just as loudly as Sookie's shriek.

Hunter giggled from time to time as he was given a full tour of the house that included where my room was so that he would know to close the kitchen door behind him before he opened the second. There was a brief pause at the thermostat because it had been set on 80. It was warm enough in the house that Hunter mentioned it and Sookie felt uncomfortable.

Of the three bedrooms upstairs, he chose the same one that the other Hunter was occupying even though I offered to move Pam's boxes from the biggest room for him.

His things had been shoved into his backpack without much thought. His pajamas were mismatched and he'd forgotten to pack socks. Hunter's change of clothes consisted of another dinosaur t-shirt and a darker version of the jean shorts he was already wearing. His father had clearly not expected Jake's visit to end in an abrupt upheaval of their life.

He giggled again when Sookie went into the private bathroom that Hunter was practically giddy over to start his bath.

I sat down on the corner of the king sized bed that made him seem even smaller. "Since I'm not a mind reader, I have to ask. What has you giggling?"

"I'm happy. I could 'hear' my neighbors at my old house. It's really quiet here."

"It should be. There's room for a house this size to fit between mine and the neighbors. Since I have such good hearing, I can't live too close to people either."

"Cool… You know, my Daddy's freaking out."

"Of course he is. His son is in danger."

"Not that… He's scared of me more now that he knows I'm not just making lucky guesses."

"Sookie's mother did the same thing to her. It's hard for humans to understand. Sookie is happier now that she doesn't have to hide it. I think you will be too."

"Me too. Daddy gets scared a lot. That I'll do it at bad times."

"There will be times when I tell you not to read thoughts, like tonight, but most of the time you'll be free to practice. When Sookie made friends with Michelle, she mentioned that practicing made her shields easier to use. She used to have problems, but she hasn't been suffering that I know of."

He nodded very seriously. "She told me."

"Were you two 'talking' to each other during our meetings?"

"Some. She told me to look for her through you. It wasn't easy."

"But it worked."

He nodded. "She's really good."

"She was born with it like you. She's had a lot of practice. It'll get easier for you too."

"Good… Why are we going to Dallas?"

"Because there are some people who want to hurt vampires. Sookie is going to listen to make sure some of them aren't pretending to be friendly…"

"Ohhhh… Like she did tonight… That's easy. Liars echo."

"Oh really? How is that?"

"Tell me a lie."

"Grass is purple."

"Ok… If grass was purple you woulda just said that it is. But since you lied, you woulda thought 'grass is green' and said purple out loud… Lies are loud too."

"That's very interesting."

"But since I can't hear what you think, your brain just got swirly." Uh oh.

"Swirly?"

"Yep. You're like a cloud or a fog, but it gets busy when you lie… Like some of the vampires you said it was 'nice' to see them…" Shit.

"Are you up for a test?"

He nodded excitedly and studied me very closely.

"I can pick up your father's truck. I have 600 pairs of shoes. I own a dolphin named Violet."

"You have a dolphin!"

"Which one was the lie?"

"Shoes. Why do you have a dolphin?" Fuck. I had to wait until I talked to Sookie, but being able to sense deceit in vampires was more of a worry than Sookie occasionally hearing a stray vampire thought.

"Pam talked me into making a donation to an aquarium. Evidently, I've adopted her."

Sookie stepped out of the bathroom and smiled at us. "What's up?"

"He can tell when vampires are lying."

She grabbed Hunter's night clothes. "Oh. Why are you worried about that?"

I raised my eyebrow. "_Why aren't you?_"

"Because I can too."

"All along?"

She nodded. "I didn't know what it was at first... And it's not always lying. It's the same when y'all think about more than one thing at a time. You do it a lot." She felt how relieved I was… She stepped closer and ran her fingers through my hair as she bent to kiss me and leaned against my side. "It can be like snakes tangled together when you've got a lot on your mind."

While I recovered from worrying over a nonpoint, Hunter looked up to Sookie. "Did you know he has a dolphin?"

She giggled. "Pam told me. She has a soft spot for animals. They didn't know she was 'adopted' until the aquarium sent them a 'thank you' letter, but now that she knows, she's trying to decide what to adopt next."

He smiled at me. "You should adopted a shark. They have sharp teeth too."

I chuckled at him. "That's what I said." I'd actually told Pam that dolphins were pussies and if she had to adopt something, to adopt something less cuddly next time.

"Oh! Walruses have just two!"

Sookie giggled at him. "Something nocturnal would been good too… Tub's ready. Do you need any help?"

Hunter jumped from his new bed, shaking his head and darted into the bathroom. We laughed when we heard a splash loud enough to sound as though he'd jumped in from a diving board.

Sookie ran her fingers through my hair again. "Where am I going to find paper so I can make a list? I've thought of a hundred things we're going to need."

"The desk in our room or the one in the study. Why didn't you tell me you can sense when we're lying?"

She smiled, but she felt embarrassed. "Well… at first it was because I was paranoid about it. Specifically, I thought the big, scary sheriff was lying to me…"

"When?"

"Your mind was a mess when I came to Fangtasia over the Long Shadow thing… Since I trusted the asshole at the time and he was filling my head with crap, I assumed the worst of the differences… Once I was around you more, I realized that… Well, the night we had the first skip, I was freaking out because the other you was like that too, but once we got to my house I realized that even though _you_ hadn't said much of anything, yours was too… Once I realized it wasn't always lying that caused it, it kind of became a nonpoint." Explaining why she mentioned that I'd been quiet… and probably added to how quickly her opinion of me shifted. She cleared her throat and sat sideways on my leg. "Your mind was like an anthill the night we left for New Orleans… Until… well, until you were on top of me… that's all you were thinking about. _One thing_. You were so focused on my scent that your mind was completely still."

"You didn't start to trust me until I mauled you?"

She giggled. "How weird am I, right?" Usually, I'd call her unique… but weird unquestionably defined that situation.

"Does it bother you that I still have a million questions about your gift?"

"Not as long as you space them out. You're only allowed one a night."

I couldn't help but smile at her. "You realize that would mean you'd have to be available to answer them for 2740 years, yes?"

She rolled her eyes and swayed her head from side to side playfully. "2739 years, 8 months and 19 nights, but who's counting?"

"I'm going to have to turn you so that you can make good on your offer."

She giggled, "_You're so pushy_."

She was at least joking about it again… Much better than the night before when she threatened to die… Even in jest, it was much better than the idea of losing her…

On Sookie's suggestion, Hunter called Remy to tell him goodnight. He excitedly rattled about his new room and how quiet the house was. It had to be yet another blow to Remy's ego for Hunter to not only be so excited to be away from him, but that someone else could so easily provide what he couldn't.

The boy didn't want a night light. He didn't want the door to be left open... There wasn't a readable mind within his range and that was more than enough… Sookie promised that she didn't dream when she slept with me… No more than he had earlier. His eyes were blissfully closed before I walked out of the room.

As soon as the door closed behind us, I scooped Sookie up and dashed for my (soon to be 'our') room.

I'd gotten to the kitchen before she broke into a full laugh and told me to stop.

"Why?"

"Because I have something to do first."

"No you don't."

She gave a halfhearted scowl after dodging a kiss. "It'll only take a minute."

"What needs to be done?"

"I need to start a load of laundry and grab my purse."

"He has a change…"

"I don't have a change of clothes though. I can't wear this to run errands. I need to wash my tank top and shorts from earlier."

I growled and set her down. "2 minutes. Go."

She licked her lips, doing nothing to help me stay patient and ran down the stairs to my room. She was back with an armful of clothes in just a few seconds… She'd grabbed the clothes that Pam and I had been wearing last night along with her things.

When she bent over to look at the buttons on the front of the washer, I reached for the zipper on her dress.

She snickered, "I've been warned. This Dior is on loan from the 'Ravenscroft Museum of High Fashion'. If you ruin this dress trying to get to me, Pam is going to have a pallet of Alpo sent to Flood, _from me_."

"That makes ripping it more tempting."

"That's what I was afraid of. _Don't you get me in trouble_."

I pulled the zipper down slowly in spite of myself and started sliding the straps over her shoulders. "You push your luck as it is…"

As soon as Sookie started the washer, I grabbed her, pulling her against me to speed to my room… She giggled and called me impatient.

Two nights had been too long. She was lucky that I'd been as patient as I had…

My clothes. Her panties. We ripped and clawed until it was all left in ribbons along the way…

She called me impatient, but she was just as eager as I was.

Waiting wasn't an option for either of us.

There was nothing playful or innocent…

We attacked one another.

Too much had happened since the last time we'd been together. Too much had kept us apart.

I was needy, depraved, holding her as tightly as I could without hurting her…

And doing my best to make sure everything in my room smelled like her…

No holding back…

The way her legs felt around my hips, her heels pulling me to her, bathing me in her scent and her heat…

It made me want to run away with her and keep her to myself.

All mine.

Nothing had ever tasted better.

Nothing had ever meant more.

Nothing had ever made me feel like Sookie did…

Breathing.

Throbbing.

I felt alive with her.

Through her.

I wasn't ever going to let her go.

I couldn't.

While I struggled to stop breathing, she trembled and curled into my side like she should've been the night before, her mood shifted. First was worry, then anger, then embarrassment… everything came to her as though each mood was being added to a blender and it happened in a matter of a minute or two. There wasn't much time left before sunrise, but I didn't want to ignore it. "You should be more calm. What's wrong?"

"I can't… I think this is more crazy than hanging out with my dead grandmother." I couldn't have been sure what she was talking about.

"Explain how that is possible."

She laughed quietly through her nose and inched closer to me. "We just tucked a baby into bed together. I never figured I'd have kids and I'm going to take a stab in the dark and bet you didn't either… So… somehow, me and you are going to end up raising a kid together."

"It can't be harder than being Pam's maker… You're taking to the idea of having him fairly well."

"I had some Gran wisdom tonight… It could wear off though so watch out for that… Why are you so, I don't know, _cool_ about this?"

"I spent the early evening keeping him company… He's smarter than Jason and I tolerate _him_."

She raised her chin to look at me through narrowed eyes. "Bullshit."

I should've known she wouldn't let me leave it as a joke. "Even though I balked at the idea after our first 'skip'… I like that better than trying… 'Skip' is a…"

She cleared her throat. "Stalling."

"You're being a brat."

She giggled, "And you're still stalling."

"I'm not stalling… After our first skip I was leery. I couldn't imagine why I'd be accepting of having a child around, but then again, nothing about the past week was anything I could have predicted. 'He' told me how important you'd be to me. He told me how unique your family is… He had his own misgivings about having the boy, but I saw for myself that everything seems to be working out for the best for everyone involved… I decided during the skip to not resist the situation when it came to us." And that was before the phone call from Fangtasia when the other me described taking care of Hunter as a combination of duties… Not only was he feeling as though he was given the chance to prevent Hunter from having the same unhappy childhood as Sookie, but since I was turned while my children were still small, he likened the situation to a second chance at fatherhood… Of course, he'd explained that point while his Sookie was in the restroom, but I'd understood his sentiment nonetheless.

"What kind of misgivings did he have?"

"To begin with, I haven't been around children since I was alive unless you count slaves. Also they were concerned that being around vampires would be frightening for the boy and since Hadley was sharing blood with the Queen while she was pregnant with him they were concerned that his ability could be heightened… they were all anxious about the adjustments."

"His ability is stronger than I remember mine being. He doesn't seem to get tired from using his shields as fast as I used to, he just can't hold them for long without them slipping… Jake didn't tell Remy much of anything until they caught up with Jason so he was scared of Jake until Jason thought to him that Jake was a 'good guy' and we'd explain the difference to him… You're really sweet with him."

"Which one of us?"

She giggled. "Both of you… This Hunter likes Remy less now that he's met you."

"What about the other Hunter?"

"You've replaced his father according to Gran… He hasn't thought about him since he got here. There. Hell, you know what I mean."

"I do… And how is it that you're so 'cool'? You weren't happy when Jason suggested that he stay with us."

"We hadn't decided to live together yet."

"_My turn_. Bullshit."

She giggled and blew a raspberry. "I listened to Hunter's thoughts for a while. He loves that we aren't scared of him. That really hit home for me… And it took me a few minutes to remember something Gran told me… We talked about Hunter and how I hadn't been asked to take care of him yet. I told her I wasn't upset about it either because I had enough changes to deal with right now… she told me, 'don't be scared of change. Without change, there'd be no butterflies'." She grinned as she cast a glance at her ring.

"So I have your grandmother to thank for not having to coerce you to move in with me, yes?"

"That helped, but I told you I was already thinking about it before the skip… All you had to do was bring it up."

"Just because you wanted to live with me, doesn't mean you'd have yielded without a fight."

"_Of course_, you'd have needed to wait until you could think of a good excuse for me to live here… Lord knows that you wouldn't have just admitted that you missed me and risked your 'hard-ass' reputation by being sweet."

"Excuse me! I _**did**_ tell you that I missed you."

"To add to your case for me to move because of Hunter's..."

"Tell me that you wouldn't have been stubborn without an excuse, an actual purpose."

She raised an eyebrow. "I can't say that."

"You can be such a pain in the ass. Do you realize that you made fun of me for waiting for an excuse, when you were waiting for me to find one too?"

She giggled. "Yes. Do you realize that you just argued to point out that you were being sweet?" No… No I hadn't… Fuck, maybe I had…

"Aren't you tired?"

She laughed and stretched to give me a kiss as she left the bed. "Exhausted. _I'm warning you now_. I think today is going to be a Red Bull day." The last thing I needed was to be in an unfamiliar city with that rattled feeling.

"Just make sure you eat during the day. You and Hunter should nap on the plane… What are you doing?"

"I'm grabbing my phone so I can text Alcide to bring Red Bulls and munchies for Hunter with him and I'm grabbing something for us to wear."

"Why are we getting dressed?"

She snorted. "_Uhhhh_, so the 3 year old doesn't come looking for one of us and get an eyeful. And don't give me any crap about it. I know you're not shy, but it'll make me feel better."

"I wasn't going to give you any 'crap'. I was curious. It didn't occur to me."

She was pulling on one of my T shirts and laughing that I only had one pair of pajama pants (and that the tag was still on them) when Pam knocked on the door.

"Cutting it a little close, aren't you?" She might've had 10 minutes left before sunrise.

She shrugged. "I wasn't happy to leave when I did either… How did the boy end up here?" At least she'd been there long enough to notice.

"He wanted to come back with us…"

Sookie corrected, "Him. Not us. It was all Eric."

Pam grinned. "I'm not going to bother hiding how amusing it is that you're telepath bait."

Sookie snorted and slid back into the bed with me, leaving plenty of room for Pam. "As opposed to redneck man-slut bait?"

"I'm just in the mood for a change of equipment."

"And the best part of that is since your fangs ran out when Remy called Jason a retarded asshole, you kind of forfeited your pocket full o'jibes about us."

"It's not like I'm _**moving in**_ with him or anything."

After a long yawn, Sookie cooed, "Of course not. Is it scientific, like Dian Fossey? Maybe instructive like Annie Sullivan…?"

I started laughing, "Maybe agricultural like George Washington Carver?"

Sookie shook against me while she laughed, "Good luck with his peanut sized brain!"

"I don't think those are the nuts Pam's interested in."

Pam turned around in a sulk. "I'm going to go die in the back yard now…"

Sookie laughed, "I'm just kidding! Y'all are having fun. That's all I care about. I'll drop it. Promise." She gave Sookie a skeptical look over her shoulder. "Really. Get changed and get into bed so I don't have to move you."

Pam begrudgingly trudged to her luggage and changed into one of her many silk robes since Sookie explained why she wasn't allowed to 'sleep' nude with a child in the house.

Pam carefully (comically) arranged her hair on her pillow as though someone would care about what she looked like when she died. "This is more awkward than I thought it would be. It reeks of sex and blood in here. How long before my house is…?"

I groaned. "Are we whining? Poor Pam has to wait for a free house. _Honestly_… You'll move when we return from Dallas."

"Yes, I'm whining. I'm sharing a bed with the funny little bitch that put used stockings on me while I was dead… and the clown who thinks it was hilarious."

"Sookie is going to be too busy to play any practical jokes today. Shut up."

"You shut up. You're the one who told me to keep my resting place private."

"And if you had listened, you could die in your own house."

"Go ahead. I know you want to say it." Of course I did.

"I told you so."

"You're not funny."

"I'm not trying to be funny, Pam…"

Sookie started laughing about needing to separate us and moved to kiss me. Knowing how much more awkward Pam would feel made it that much more enjoyable even if Sookie was just trying to break up the bickering. I rolled away from Pam, wrapping myself around Sookie, coveting her and returning the kiss… Pam complained the whole time, but by the time I felt Pam die for the day, all I wanted was more of Sookie.

"Don't wash this shirt. I'm wearing it tonight."

She grinned and whispered against my lips, "Normally, I'd put up a fight, but I owe you one."

"Oh really? What do you owe me for?"

She ran her finger along my jaw and kissed my cheek. "You took me to see to my Gran. Thank you."


	21. Chapter 21

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 21**

**In The Shit**

I could feel the smile spreading across my face before I was aware of the reason. Sookie was just as she was when I died for the day. Even though her hair was damp from a recent shower, her eyes were on me like they had been when she watched me slip away at sunrise.

"Good evening handsome."

"Are you planning to do this every night once you move to Shreveport?"

She leaned away, slightly worried. "Not if you mind…"

I pulled her back. "I don't mind. I'm looking forward to it. How was your day?"

"Busy."

"Good? Bad?"

"Dunno… Most of it was progress." Progress sounded ominous.

"Ok. I'm waiting."

"Well, we filled a suitcase with new clothes for Hunter. I'm sure Pam won't approve of most of it, but he's very happy about how much dinosaur stuff we found at the mall. We did some practicing, back and forth between stretching and blocking. Hunter doesn't get much of anything from Alcide unless he's thinking of Hunter, you know, like I used to be. Remy did ok with it, surprisingly. Seeing Hunter be with me… we both caught him thinking that he wished he knew about me all along so that Hunter would've had help. He's feeling much better about Hunter being with us. I told him how much better I feel now that I'm using it. Even though Hunter only got 5 hours of sleep, he mentioned that he's never felt more rested. No one else's thoughts or dreams woke him up."

"Is he napping now? The house is quiet."

"No. When I left him, he was playing on the patio while Alcide and Jason put together a Little Tykes club house for him. We had a lot of fun at the toy store. We filled a bag with some toys and drawing supplies so that he doesn't get bored. Remy felt weird about all the shopping, but I told him that we needed stuff for him too."

"That can't be why I braced myself."

"No, but I'm getting there… All in all, we mostly got stuff accomplished today. Alcide brought his laptop with him and helped me shop online for all kinds of stuff we're going to need here. Kitchen stuff and kid stuff for Hunter. You have a distinct lack of lighting, _Mr. Nightvision_. It should all get to Jason's house in a couple of days."

"Why Jason's house?"

"Because everyone who can get into your house is going to Dallas with us and my house is uber-warded. Hoyt is going to check Jason's porch and take packages in for us."

"Good thinking. What else?"

"Sam harassed Paulette last night."

"Wonderful. Details."

"He was waiting for me when she got to the house. He stopped by when he 'heard I was back'. It was a crock. He had to've been watching the house because the only person I talked to since we got back was Lafayette and since I told him about how Sam's being he wouldn't have said anything. Sam was pissed about the ward since he couldn't get close to the house. He didn't get to say much before Paulette pointed out that she was strong enough to ward the property against humans and then she threatened to turn him into a chicken nugget and feed him to a raccoon. Alcide laughed all the way to McDonalds when she told us and then ate a 20 piece order of McNuggets for breakfast."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Is that why I was bracing myself?"

"You're not mad?"

"No. Paulette managed to be rid of him easily enough… Did she tell him that you don't live there anymore?"

She gave an angry. "She said that she wouldn't steal your thunder… She knew you'd want to be the one to do it."

"She's right about that… Come to think of it, all of my problems are Were based at the moment. Seeing the look on Merlotte's face when he finds out you're moving away from his reach will soften the blow."

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head slightly. "How is everything Were based?"

"I owe Purifoy favors for his actions since he risked his neck, literally, to tell us about Hadley's fuckery. Merlotte is a jilted pain in my ass. As much as I loathe to admit it, Alcide is growing on me and Jackson Herveaux…"

"Wait. How is he a problem?"

"I'm not going to sit audience at his offices for long enough for him to repay me. I need to think of an alternative."

"Why?"

"Because he's unhappy with the arrangement. Sooner or later he could get creative about how to end his business with me. If he pays close enough attention, he'll learn quickly how much you're worth, especially to me."

"So you're thinking that you're going to have to rebuild Fangtasia?"

"Actually, I was thinking about abandoning the property and just opening a normal bar. It would be less annoying than Fangtasia and we would still have room for meetings…"

Her eyes lit up and she inched closer. "You're thinking that you should have a storefront for your position and the clinics so the space earns something?"

"Yes. What has you so excited?"

"Is Pam still dead?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Instead of a bar, since you've already learned how annoying that can be, how about a retail space?"

"What are you thinking?"

"That if you opened a store of some kind, you wouldn't have to be watched like a zoo exhibit for humans. And your business could move in and out of the back."

"What would we sell?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. 'A store' was the whole lightbulb. Talk to Pam about that. She's your 'partner'."

"Would you mind working from a dildo depot storefront?"

She giggled. "I doubt that's what she'd want to do. It would be more likely that she'd want to open a clothing store, don'tcha think?"

"I think _I'd_ prefer apparel. I'd rather have the newest Louboutins waved in my face than the alternative."

She cackled, "Good point… Anyway, hypothetical fashion center would earn money by day peddling whatever Pam tells you that you need to carry… No fangbangers…"

"No bartenders. Minimal staff." Six employees would suit a business like that just fine.

"You'd pay wholesale for Pam's clothes." Pam started to stir, so I waited a moment.

I winked as a signal to Sookie and she bit her lip anxiously. "And her shopping trips would be write-offs because they're work related."

She nodded. "The mood wouldn't be as X-rated and since we've got Hunter to think about, that's a good thing…"

Pam suddenly rolled over, sandwiching me between her and Sookie and speaking quickly enough that there were no spaces between her words. "Are you talking about what I think you're talking about?"

"I was just telling Sookie that I was thinking about opening another bar because Herveaux and Son's office isn't ideal."

She moped, "Oh."

"So Sookie suggested that I look into something in the realm of retail instead. Any suggestions?"

Pam drew in a sharp breath. "Bronze her!"

We laughed at her. "She suggested that you might want to entertain yourself by showing off your penchant for fashion, but that would be silly…"

Pam's hand went over my mouth before I could finish teasing her and cooed directly in my ear. "Fashion… lingerie… we could carry shoes and bags and maybe some jewelry…"

Sookie finished, "It's every girl's dream to be paid for doing what they'd do for free."

"_Errrriiicccccc, pleeeeeease_. I'll do absolutely everything. You won't have to lift a finger. You'll just have to be sexy and show up."

Her hand was still over my mouth. I would've been annoyed if she wasn't so excited.

"_Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeazzzzzzzz zzzzzzzze_. I was so bored at Fangtasia. It'll be my birthday present."

Since the 'negotiations' were so much fun, I raised my eyebrows to Sookie since I was still 'silenced'. She added, "And once you find the space, you can negotiate with Jackson to have some of his guys fit the shop with displays and whatnot since they do some construction work." Even better.

Pam cooed again, "_Pleasepleasepleaseplease_… you know how annoying I am when I'm bored."

I nodded, waiting for her hand to move. It took her a moment in all of her excitement to realize that she was still cupping her hand over my mouth before she took it away. "Do the research. Give me tangible numbers, overhead and a real proposal. You know better than to think I'll buy into your capricious couture fantasy without finite details. I think I already regret the suggestion."

She lunged over me to kiss Sookie's cheek, then mine and shot from the bed and into the bathroom. "You won't regret it. It'll be _sooooo_ perfect."

Sookie rolled her eyes as soon as Pam slammed the door shut behind her. "Diabetic and _hyperactive_."

"You have no idea how happy you made her. You're her new favorite person."

She kissed my cheek and slid out of my arms. "Not for long. Wait 'til she finds out that I repacked for her so that we could all fit in one plane. Get ready. Dallas is waiting."

"That was a disappointingly short briefing."

"If I lay there much longer, you'll have to carry me to the plane. I'm worn slam out."

"How much sleep did you get?"

"About two hours… but Red Bulls have kept me going. I'll power-nap on the plane and be fine."

"It's only a two hour flight."

She nodded from the doorway. "We need to start keeping Hunter up as late as we can so that I can sleep later."

"Could you give him Red Bull?"

She laughed. "Sweetie, even if it were safe to give a baby that much caffeine, I wouldn't want to see it. I don't think _**you**_ could keep up with him as fast as you move… but you _would_ be the only one who could peel him from the ceiling."

"So we'll have to gradually make his bedtime later?"

She nodded. "The hard part is going to be keeping him awake while he's using your bubble to block out business."

"Having him to care for is going to be a difficult transition for you."

"It won't be too bad... I had fun with him today. He's really sweet. Chores are easier when they're fun, right?" She asked like I'd know. Sookie was the first time that fun and obligation had collided for me.

"I hope they are for your sake." I hadn't spent any time thinking about Sookie's physical state when I made the decision to have Hunter stay with us. I'd seen that the boy would thrive and Sookie wouldn't suffer… I hadn't taken into consideration that Adele was helping. I hadn't asked about their scheduling. The other Hunter was practically nocturnal after only a week of staying with them, so the adjustment period wouldn't go on too long… but the timing of My Sookie's adjustment, while we were traveling, while we were in the shit; fundamentalists, political coups, dealing with a double-decker lateral move between meeting venues... It was too much. I'd given her too much.

"I'll be fine." She didn't believe it any more than I did.

Sookie was nothing if not organized, even if it did seem like she was just afraid to stop moving.

When Pam and I arrived upstairs, she'd used the garage as a staging area for our luggage and particulars like computer bags and Hunter's new 'booster' seat. Everyone had been gathered at the house so that we could leave together and even if we hadn't been ready for a well structured departure, I would've been fine thanks to my shirt. Sookie had put the shirt she slept in back on while she was in the yard with Hunter and it was waiting on the bathroom counter for me. Sex and Sunlight. Cotton had never smelled better.

Sookie struggled to stay awake long enough to reach the airport while Hunter struggled against his seatbelt to see out of the windows. He was excited over his first limo ride and the idea of his first flight.

Jason chewed his cuticles until Pam promised to glamour him so that he wouldn't notice the take-off or landing. I didn't have to make fun of her. She felt my urge to tease her with an 'awwww'.

Once we arrived, my confusion roused Sookie and by extension Hunter. Next to the Anubis jet that I'd booked for our flight, the Queen's private plane was waiting with a pair of Saxons flanking the stairs. The attendants and boarding passengers of the Anubis flight were ogling.

I left everyone in the limo to get a reason.

"At the risk of seeming rude, why are you here?"

Wybert answered, "The Queen worries…"

Siegbert finished, "Extra guards."

"We don't anticipate there being much problem in Dallas. We're only going so that Sookie can screen area pets. There aren't any specific threats."

Wybert almost smiled. "Political." Decades in America and their English wasn't as sophisticated as the 3 year old in the limo.

"Sophie-Ann is sending you two so that she seems supportive of King Milne's church problems because she wants an ally just in case."

They both nodded. It made sense. I had to worry if there might be a better place for Sookie to be of if Sophie-Ann had just hitched her wagon to our plans.

"No known trouble."

They shook their heads, but Wybert actually smiled. "Andre sent Quinn."

"Fuck. I don't want him near Sookie." Or Hunter for that matter and I doubted that she'd disagree.

"A gift."

"A gag gift."

"Gag?"

"A prank. A joke. Why did Andre want him out of New Orleans?"

The genius shrugged.

"Was Quinn told that he'd be part of a guard detail or was he just tricked onto the plane with a can of tuna?"

Siegbert actually chuckled. "Guard. Not who."

Fuck. I was going to need a fresh shirt by the end of the night. There was no point in calling Andre or sending Quinn back to New Orleans in a cab (on a Grayhound would be amusing) because I was sure that Milne had already been informed of the additions to our entourage. Sending Quinn, because of his fucking reputation was a gesture. Not only did it mean that Sophie-Ann took Sookie's talent seriously, but it meant that she took Milne's infestation of bigots seriously. Davis would already be expecting the Berts and two Weres as Sookie's security. I was stuck with the prick.

I waved to the car to have everyone start boarding.

Sookie stopped next to me while everyone else filed up the stairs, Hunter's hand in hers. "What's wrong?" I watched everyone else greet the Berts. The two actually received high fives from Jason and bumped forearms with Alcide.

"Andre sent extra security."

"I don't get it. What's got you so riled about the Berts? We like them just fine." Sure, as far as retard laureates are concerned.

"It's not the Berts that bother me. It's the third guard."

She gave a confused look, but I could tell that she was solving the mystery on her own. It barely took a moment for her lip to curl. "Oh God. Him? Seriously?"

Hunter chirped. "What's a Quinn?"

Sookie sighed and passed Hunter's hand to me. She had to know that if I could avoid taking Quinn with us, he'd already be out of the plane. If nothing else, Hunter certainly didn't need to hear his thoughts. I lifted the boy and took Sookie's hand. "Quinns are disgusting. They use litter boxes and eat mice."

He giggled. "No. Really."

"John Quinn is a Were Tiger. He thinks Sookie is a beautiful _monster_. He's been sent to help watch over the two of you."

"Alcide needs help?" Not that I'd ever seen. Any Were that could snap a vampire's back was an image of proficiency.

"Sookie's a trouble maker. Alcide can use all the help he can get."

"Like bikinis?"

Sookie blew a raspberry at him. "Thanks, Squirt."

He laughed, "You lost!"

Sookie cut her eyes to look at me as we started up the stairs. "Alcide and I made a stupid bet. I lost so I had to buy a one-piece bathing suit. I'm not allowed to wear a bikini on his watch while we're in Dallas." Proof that there was more than one way to skin a cat.

"Do I want to know what the bet was?"

Sookie pinched her lips together and let Hunter answer. "Ice cream race! She got a brain freeze half way through and quit."

When I laughed with Hunter, we were both given a raspberry.

There was a gaper's block in the cabin. Alcide, Paulette and Pam were holding up the flow of traffic to stare at Quinn. Since Jason had no idea who Quinn was, he was clueless as to why everyone else was staring.

"Quinn, you've met Sookie Stackhouse and my second, Pam Ravenscroft. Our full entourage includes Paulette Simonette; my assistant, Jason Stackhouse; Sookie's brother and this is Hunter. Watch yourself. He's a telepath too. Most importantly, you need to get acquainted with Alcide Herveaux. He's Sookie's permanent guard. You'll be answering to him."

Alcide's neck crackled because of how quickly he jerked his head to look at me. "Me?"

"To make a finer point, Quinn is your bitch while we're in Dallas."

The way he smiled made him seem drunk. "If you say so, sheriff." Giving the wolf a kitty to play with solved the dilemma of how to reward him for finding the connection between skips.

Whatever he was thinking made Sookie laugh as she released my hand and went to the kitchenette.

While I sat on the sofa with Hunter, Sookie bent to open the mini-fridge. "Awww. Who told the staff that I've been drinking Red Bull on long nights? The plane wasn't stocked with them before." Wybert pointed to his 'brodder'. "_That was sweet. Thank you_."

The oaf looked surprised that she noticed, let alone appreciated the thought while she passed around drinks; beer for Alcide and Jason, a Diet Pepsi for Paulette and she settled next to me with Hunter's carry-on bag and a can of Red Bull. Sookie introduced Hunter to the Berts as they fished for a carton of juice and a small bag of crackers for him.

Quinn finally stopped his posturing staring game with Alcide to speak. _Unfortunately_, but I knew he'd do it eventually. "What about everyone else?"

Sookie rolled her eyes and didn't bother looking back. "The hotel we're staying at has a donor lounge. I'll take care of Pam and the Berts when we get settled."

"You aren't going to offer me anything?"

"Last time I did that, you went into heat and there's a child onboard that reads minds. If you want _A DRINK_, get it yourself."

"The kid!? I thought he meant your brother."

"No. He meant the three year old. Behave yourself."

After just a moment, Hunter giggled, "No she's not. I really can… fire hydrant… newspaper… Beggin Strips…" Quinn's eyes widened in his shock when Hunter passed his 'test'… but the boy suddenly started cackling, "Sandbox… BB gun… _antifreeze?_" Alcide was making his rebuttal through Hunter.

Sookie was less amused than the rest of us. "Quinn, you need to get over yourself. None of us are jumping up and down about you going with us. You might've been king of the pride in New Orleans, but around here, we're dog people. Specifically, Alcide is TOP DOG." It wasn't fair. She'd used some of my animal jokes.

"I don't answer to wolves."

"You'll answer to this one or you'll answer to vampires. You're nothing but bling. All show. Alcide is my guard. All you have to do is keep your mouth shut and try to look as menacing as you can with that Mr. Clean thing going on."

"Like Rin Tin Tin could scare anyone?"

When everyone else on the plane started chuckling or giggling, I wished I could read their minds to know what they were mentally contradicting Quinn by remembering. Myself? I was thinking of the look on Mickey's face while he waited for the feeling to come back to his legs.

Quinn growled, "What's so funny?"

I took over. "How wrong you are. Alcide is trusted with Sookie's safety for a reason."

"You got him amped up on vampire blood or something?"

"No. He does just fine without it."

Siegbert added with a chuckle, "Mickey has limp." That solved the mystery of what had caused his amusement.

Alcide laughed, "Still? What a pussy."

"Heal… back…" He stopped, obviously frustrated that he was unable to get his point across in English so he explained in Saxon and let me translate for him.

Pam and I were both laughing when I did. "His back heeled incorrectly. He couldn't feel a foot. He had to have it rebroken and set."

Alcide beamed. "Any news on the girl?"

Siegbert gave a curt nod. "Alive. Healing…" Alcide gave a satisfied nod. "Hunter? Is like Sookie?"

I nodded. "Our minds feel the same to them both. His talent for Weres isn't as honed. He can hear their thoughts occasionally, best when they're about him…"

Alcide added, "Or directed at him. He played today. He has no problem hearing what I'm thinking when I mean for him to. I think it's our concentration. And while we were shopping, we picked a few of us out in the mall. He's got a bead on Supes like Jason and Sookie do." Good to know.

Hunter gave a proud grin. "I followed someone. All through the mall."

"How did you do that?"

"Sookie showed me. I listened in. We did our stuff and he did his. When he got too far, we got close enough for me to listen. It was fun. Like hunting."

"And what did he do?"

"His mom made him try 10 pairs of shoes. And wouldn't get him a cookie. And they didn't have a shirt he liked in his size and got stuck with stripes. And his mom looked at bras everywhere they went. He doesn't know much about dinosaurs. He wanted a Happy Meal, but his mom got him pizza. He hates shopping day. He never gets what he wants unless his grandpa takes him."

"At least you enjoyed yourself. What did you find?"

"Animal Planet has lots of dinosaur stuff and I got some cool clothes. Have you heard of Land Before Time? Alcide said I could use his computer to watch them." No mention of his father.

Pam's eyes lit up. "I. Love. Petrie." I had to assume Land before time was a cartoon. Jason added to the conversation by agreeing that Petrie was the best part of the movies… Which started a long conversation about more dinosaur movies including the Jurassic Park franchise and whatever Land Of The Lost was. Quinn actually contributed by mentioning a program called Dinosaurs… I think the downward spiral started when Pam and Jason began quoting said show. If I never heard 'Not the mama!' again, it would be too soon. The concept of 'hurling day' appealed to me though.

Since Hunter dozed off on my lap, and Sookie took her chance for her much needed rest as soon as the plane was in the air, the 'regulars' delivered Quinn's education about Sookie's security.

Quinn didn't have as much experience as a guard as Alcide, and more specifically, he had NO experience behaving himself. He wasn't half as sharp as Alcide and he didn't seem to have any sense of humor. And since he hated working for vampires and answering to a wolf, he won the prize for being the most exasperating asshole in arm's reach. From what I could gather, his only two (infinitesimal) attributes were 1: He'd be useful in a fight, but only if he had the opportunity to change. All brawn and no brains made the tiger more of a liability than a defense. 2: Because of his work with E(E)E, he might have something to offer as a protocol tutor, but since Sookie had a natural ease with Supernatural beings, I doubted she'd need any advice from the egotistical emcee.

His list of guidelines included, but weren't limited to:

To learn Sookie's tells so that he knew what he was watching for… and _follow Alcide's lead_.

As a rule, to stay out of Sookie's way and _follow Alcide's lead_.

To keep an eye on anyone Sookie points out and _follow Alcide's lead_.

During clinics and screenings, to keep his mouth shut and _follow Alcide's lead_.

Most importantly, if he touched Sookie, he'd regret it.

The more times we told him to follow Alcide's lead, the more agitated Quinn became (more fun by the minute), so telling him that he wasn't allowed to touch Sookie was his breaking point. "I saw the wolf touch Sookie." Not only did 'the wolf' touch Sookie, but he thanked her for his beer by pecking her cheek. They were friends. Alcide had already developed a loyalty to her. It was allowed.

"How does that matter? You are not to make physical contact with Sookie unless it's vital to her safety."

"Why is that?"

"Because in addition to the fact that Alcide has proven that his thoughts aren't obscene and offensive like you have, I fucking say so. You're importance ranks below everyone in this plane. For appearance's sake, you are an impressive name in the credits of a plotless movie. In actuality, you're a meat shield. A bullet sponge. Nothing more."

"Thanks a bunch, jerk off. You don't have to be insulting."

"There are truths and there are insults. Let me give you an example. Truth: you are hired muscle with the sole purpose of keeping Sookie and Hunter safe. Insult: I've turned down Andre's offer of your services until now because you're a mouth-breathing, bottom-feeding blow-hard who's developed delusions of grandeur based on your 'talent' for killing your own kind. Since Tiger's are such a rare breed of Shifter, I'll add that to my list of things that prove how brilliant Darwin was. If I thought you were capable of reading, I'd suggest Of Mice and Men so that you'd know why I've 'mistakenly' called you Lenny a few times. And if I weren't afraid you'd hang yourself on the chin straps, I'd suggest you wear a helmet."

"I can read."

Even Jason caught on to the fact that Quinn's lack of comprehension skills made him dismiss every other thing I'd said and when the laughter died down, all that was left was staring until everyone who could, fell asleep. As soon as Jason's eyes closed, Pam stopped fighting that she felt drawn to her computer. She spent the rest of the flight smiling into her computer screen like she were about to lick it.

I let Sookie and Hunter rest as long as possible, only waking them once the door was opened. She'd managed to sleep for two hours… hopefully long enough. I left Hunter to nap longer, hoping he'd stay awake longer once he stirred.

With three more in our party than planned, we divided into several cabs to get to the hotel. Stan had offered to send limos, but given our reason for being in Dallas, anonymity was smarter than luxury.

No chances.

Sookie and I rode in one cab with Hunter while everyone else argued about who had to ride with Quinn.

Hunter might've taken his time waking up in the plane, but he managed to make a full recovery with gusto. In addition to his excitement over being on a plane for the first time, he had never been to Dallas and never been in a cab… He struggled against his seatbelt to see as much as he could through the window. While Sookie was still fighting for consciousness.

"How many Red Bulls have you had today?"

She had to fight a yawn to answer me. "Just 3."

"I would've thought you'd have more."

"You don't like the recoil. They make you edgy."

"I don't like how tired you are either. We'll find some at the hotel and put a 'do not disturb' on our room tomorrow."

"I hated that before."

"You can leave when you're ready to, but I don't want anyone to wake you by calling. As tired as you are, you might not notice if you were locked down."

She smiled weakly and kissed my cheek. "You're right about that."

"No serious work tonight either. You can wait until tomorrow night for that."

She nodded. Even if she wanted to be contrary, she didn't have the energy. When her phone chimed, she dug it out of her purse. "From Alcide. Flood left him a voicemail that he had 4 guys he has faith in if 'shit gets hairy'."

"Better than Cooper?"

She snorted, "Yeah, that reminds me… I need to talk to you about Flood."

"The 'conversation' I missed last night?"

"Yeah."

"Why the secrecy?"

"The first thing he wanted to know was if there was any chance of getting rid of Alcide. The topic is out of his echelon, politically speaking." She got Hunter's attention and 'locked' her lips so he gave her a very serious nod and went back to ignoring everything but the scenery.

"How did he want to utilize you for pack business?"

"He proposed a little hand washing."

"One hand washes the other…"

"But it takes both of them to wash your hair."

"What?"

"_A Gran thing_. There's some things you can do for yourself. There's some things you need a buddy for. And there's some things…"

"You need a team for?"

She almost managed to giggle. "You're catching on… Ok… So, the Colonel wanted to propose that I read his pack in an effort to find suitable Weres for your various needs."

"He's prepared to gather them and have them scanned?"

She nodded. "He's mortified over Maria-Star's behavior. He doesn't want anything like that to happen again. He figures that if you give him a list of guys that you can work with, that it can prevent more embarrassment for him and safety risks as far as I'm concerned."

"It makes sense. I can't say that I'm not surprised that he'd be willing… What does he want in return?"

"He has several lieutenants. He wants to make sure that his vision for the pack's direction is what they're going for too."

"To be clear, he's offering to assemble his pack so that we can find out if any of them are of use to us in exchange for having you help him find his successor?"

"Down to brass tacks."

"Is he considering retirement?"

"No, but as he put it, he's getting long in the tooth and he wants to make sure the transition goes smoothly when he's gone. He wants to start bringing the Packmaster-to-be in on talks with you to build the bridges of communication."

"That's just… Un-fucking-heard of."

She snickered quietly. "You gonna be alright?"

"No. I don't think so."

"You need a minute?"

"That wouldn't do it, Sookie. Having an accommodating Packmaster is already a bragging point…"

"He's not a sycophant though. He's pragmatic. He knows from experience what vampires are capable of. He's smart enough to worry about it, but he's sensible enough to understand that treaties can go a long way. He can kind of tell you're of the same school of thought. The way you've dealt with Jackson and Alcide…" Alcide hadn't pissed me off at all.

"What about Alcide?"

"You let him fire Maria-Star instead of scaring the piss out of her, which you'd have been justified to do in his mind. You aren't holding it against him that his father is a problem. Alcide's been reporting back. _Vaguely, of course_. Trouble, no trouble. Vampire or Were. That kind of thing. Flood might not see the Lorena and Hadley thing as you _wanting_ to take care of it because he doesn't know specifics, but you let Alcide tend to the problems he could handle and didn't put him in the middle of vampire shit that could get him hurt. That's the kind of thing that makes the Colonel realize you're evenhanded. He wants the new guy to see it for himself instead of wasting time being skeptical."

"He told you all of that in just a couple of minutes?"

"Uninterrupted monologues tend to go by pretty quick. It's not like we were back and forth like I was with Michelle and Hunter."

"Fair point…" I was still reeling. Flood wanted to treaty, develop an official working relationship with me. "Have you heard from Michelle?"

"Today as a matter of fact. She even talked to Hunter. She's settling in nicely and doesn't _mind Owen at all_. Michelle and Hunter decided that they like being telepaths among vampires instead of freaks among humans. I told him that the feeling was unanimous. Mind if I ask why you wanted to deviate? '_Others' would keep his ability a secret_." Her tone reminded me that the boy would probably need to be told about skips in the near future.

"I don't see the point in closely guarding it now that telepaths seem to be growing on trees." Hunter turned just long enough to smile at me.

"Michelle…"

"And Barry."

"Who the hell is Barry?" Hunter sat back wide-eyed, forgetting his preoccupation with the sign on the Majestic Theater in favor of the matter of a new member of their exclusive 'club'.

I laughed at their surprise. Sookie had been too preoccupied with Adele to focus on my small-talk with Hunter. "We'll meet him here. He's a bellhop."

"Holy cow. _It's not a freak thing…_"

"Statistically speaking, you _**are**_ 'one in a million', but not a freak. We know of 4 people with a mental ability in a state with a pollution of 4.5 million…"

"5."

"What?" For a split second I thought she might have found another one who wanted to be left completely alone and hadn't told me as much.

"We aren't sure, but… Michelle's mother killed herself. Everyone said she was crazy." I should've known she wouldn't have kept that from me.

"Michelle was going to follow her footsteps…"

"Yeah… It actually got me to thinking about going to mental hospitals to look for 'different' brains."

"Save some that wouldn't know that they aren't crazy?"

She nodded. "Her mother was labeled 'paranoid schizophrenic'."

"Medicine is Pam's hobby, so I'm not sure which one that is."

"Hearing voices… _Pam's hobby is medicine?_"

"Actually, doctors and nurses are the hobby. Medicine is collateral data that she's amassed while obsessing over actors who play them. She actually went to nursing school and was completely disenchanted by the lackluster of the job."

She laughed sarcastically. "Oh. That makes perfect sense then."

"We'll make time while we're here to test your theory. We'll need a good cover story, medicine being a private matter."

"_Ummm_. Missing brother? If I claim to have a schizophrenic brother that's gone missing, I could at least get a receptionist or a nurse to picture someone so that I can fake my way through a description…"

"Unless the only one they have is black… Asian… female… already has visitors."

"By then you could glamour them to let us in anyway."

I smiled at her. Even if I was getting familiar with how resourceful she was, I was allowed to enjoy it. "If it works, you could call Michelle and have her take Owen to search Baton Rouge."

"I guess Barry could do the same, but it could be a dead end."

"I wouldn't give up after the first hospital… It stands to reason that there would be something to your theory. If you hadn't had Adele to convince you of your sanity, you'd have been in the same position as Michelle. Your own mother questioned your ability."

"What if we find some though? I mean, you said that Michelle working for Mississippi would be a problem. Louisiana has a bit of a bumper crop."

"Discovering Barry won't be a problem. As property and asset to the state of Louisiana, any and all discoveries you make are your intellectual property, including knowledge of individuals with valuable abilities and no less privileged than political and private information you gather. If Barry chooses to make a career change then he'll be given the freedom to do so and be pointed to a decent employer… Just like you did for Michelle. I'll be adding a section to your contract just in case."

"What if Barry doesn't want to work in Texas or Louisiana?"

"I can think of other areas where he could be well paid and appreciated and if he doesn't want to be exposed at all, then you and I will respect that. Normally I'd be greedy and vie to bring him to Shreveport, but I have more telepaths than I know what to do with."

She laughed, "You're going to end up being a telepathic Humane Society; finding happy homes for wayward mind readers."

Hunter giggled at the joke and added, "Like Find-a-pet."

I rolled my eyes. "Pam's been telling me for years that I need a hobby."

"Should I have one?"

"You have to find something you like to do, otherwise, I think it defeats the purpose. Is there something you like to do?"

He beamed. "I like being a telepath."

"I like being a vampire, but I don't think it could be considered a hobby. It's just what we are."

"We should think about it. What did you do before you collected telepaths?"

His seriousness made us chuckle. "Honestly, I can't think of the last time I had fun before I met Sookie. I suppose you could say that my hobby found me."

"That doesn't help."

I chuckled again, "I'm sorry."

"Can I collect vampires?"

"I would need a bigger house."

"I didn't mean like pets."

"Then how did you mean to 'collect' them?"

He shrugged and cringed one side of his face to look at the ceiling, deep in thought.

Sookie raised her eyebrow after a moment, amused with how essential he made his choice seem. Finally she offered, "How about geography? You're going to meet a lot of vampires. Why don't you see if you can fill a world map?"

His eyes lit up. "_Oooooh. That's cool_. Eric, where did you live?"

"Define live."

"Between birth and death."

I chuckled at him. "I've lived in a lot of places, but when I was human, I _lived_ in Sweden."

"Is that rude?"

"Is what rude?"

"Asking."

"I don't think that anyone would be offended if you asked them where they are from."

"Cool. What about Pam?"

"England."

"Those Bert guys?"

"They are from Saxony, but there isn't a Saxony anymore. Where they're from could have been inched out of political borders. I've met a few vampires with that problem."

"That's even cooler. I'll ask them."

I nodded. "I think you have yourself a hobby. We'll need to find a map so that you can keep track."

"A map book! Then I can keep it in my bag when we do stuff." His mood was almost as contagious as Sookie's was to me, making it easy to be excited for him.

"I think we can manage that."

The buckle for Hunter's seatbelt hit me when our cab stopped in front of our hotel.

Sookie smiled as she watched him bounce happily and felt jealous, most likely of his energy.

As I stepped out of the cab with Hunter and waited for Sookie, I watched the other cabs arrive. Quinn practically jumped out of his, quickly followed by Pam and Jason. I could only imagine what those two had been doing to make Quinn so anxious to be away from them…

With Hunter in one arm and Sookie under the other, I led our entourage into the Silent Shores Hotel. Alcide and Wybert had headed off the bellboy before he could get to us, so Hunter watched over my shoulder while Barry went about his task of collecting our luggage. I whispered to him to keep the new telepath's secret. I couldn't be sure if Quinn could be trusted. His ties to Nevada weren't far from my thinking when I was told he'd been sent 'to help'. It would make sense for Andre to want Quinn where he couldn't do much damage.

Check in was as much of a pain in my ass as I expected with a party our size. Instead of putting us all on the same floor as I requested, the four rooms we originally needed were put on as many floors. When the clerk claimed that the hotel was booked, Hunter growled at her…

"You're just lazy." The woman didn't know that he wasn't just being a bratty child.

"Hunter, is there an empty floor?"

He smiled, excited to be allowed. "Nine." The woman's eyes bulged.

"Does it have lightproof rooms?"

He raised an eyebrow at the clerk. "On the east side of the hall. The west side has big windows."

I smiled at him while the clerk turned white. "We'll take the 9th floor then."

The clerk shook her head. "Sir, there's a dozen rooms on that floor."

I repeated, "We'll take the 9th floor then." Extra rooms wouldn't hurt and it wouldn't hurt to make the bitch behind the counter suffer through the unnecessary work.

"Are you expecting more…?"

"Ninth. Floor. And a single room on the lowest floor." Hunter and Sookie giggled, knowing the room was meant for Quinn.

The woman tried to return my stare before she turned to do her job.

Since Sookie and Hunter became completely still, no doubt scanning and practicing respectfully, I sent Pam to the bar in search of Red Bull.

I had to bite my tongue so that I wouldn't laugh when Alcide realized Quinn was standing next to him. He moved to stand between the Berts, sending a clear message. He preferred their company to his… For a Were to publically prefer vampires to his own (even if there weren't any other Weres around), Alcide might as well have tarred, feathered and paraded the Tiger. Amusing, to say the least.

I filled my idle time watching, oscillating my attention between Barry's increasing tension, Quinn's growing indignation and Jason's seemingly curious wander through the lobby. All of it was more interesting to me than the fact that Stan Davis was watching us from a club chair in the lobby.

When Lisa was finally done with checking us into 13 rooms instead of the 6 she would've if she had just done her job in the first place, I motioned towards the elevators, knowing we'd be stopped.

Stan finally approached us, meeting a wall that had been formed in an instant by Alcide and the Berts. Quinn might as well have been licking a window. He didn't notice anyone was moving towards us until it would've been too late for him to be effective in the case of an actual threat.

Stan took a step back immediately, noticing like everyone else on the first floor of the hotel that our three guards all had their hands on their weapons. "My apologies. I'm only here to greet Sheriff Northman and Miss Stackhouse. I am Stan Davis, Sheriff of Dallas."

"Greetings, Sheriff Davis. How did you know we'd be staying at the Silent Shores?" As the Berts and Alcide backed away to make a path for Davis, he eyed them carefully.

"I wasn't sure. My second is waiting for you at the only other vampire friendly hotel in the area in the hopes that you weren't visiting a private residence. I was discouraged to hear that the flight from Shreveport landed without you."

"I'm sure. My Queen very generously surprised us with the use of her private plane at the last minute..." It took longer than I expected to introduce everyone to him even though he knew exactly who the Berts and Quinn were.

He gave a polite nod to no one in particular when I was done. "I wasn't expecting for you to be traveling with a child."

"Hunter is the newest addition to my collection. He's a telepath like Sookie. She's training him." While Hunter giggled over being part of my set, Barry turned green.

"_That is remarkable._ How did you find them? I'd kill to have my own. I'm sure you can understand better than anyone how valuable one would be to me given that my area is headquarters to the Fellowship."

"I understand too well. Since they can hear thoughts, when another telepath is nearby, they tend to experience some interference."

"Do you plan on keeping them all?"

"Of course not. In fact, Salome is reaping the benefits of the last one Sookie stumbled over. She doesn't have the talent or strength Sookie does and has chosen to remain anonymous but…"

"Any telepath is better than no telepath. Please, keep me in mind if you find another. I'd give my right arm to have one under contract…"

Sookie snorted out a laugh. "Sheriff Davis, not only are you a lefty, but it would grow back."

He smiled at her. "Still cheeky, I see."

I nodded. "Even when she's exhausted. If you'll excuse us, we need to claim our rooms."

"Of course. I'll wait for you to settle in. I was hoping to have Miss Stackhouse use her ability at the Bat's Wing tonight."

"Something pressing? She's quite tired."

His face took on a more grave look. "One of my nest mates has been missing for a while now. 6 nights. The Bat's Wing is the last place he was seen." Thanks to the notes I'd gotten copies of, I knew the bar was going to be a fruitless evening.

"We'll be ready in an hour."

He practically bowed. "Many thanks."

Quinn had taken another elevator since our party was so large and he wasn't going to the same floor. Even if the prick was happy to be away from us, he still made a show of how insulted he was that we weren't falling over ourselves to be in his presence.

As soon as our elevator door closed behind us, Barry's heartbeat became erratic and his pores wept with panic… The pitiful bastard knew he was alone with four vampires and two telepaths who knew his secret.

Jason started laughing… "He had no idea he was standing 15 feet from another telepath!" Since we hadn't told him that we'd be meeting another one, I had to assume he'd sensed it like he had with Michelle.

Barry backed into the wall with his eyes bugged out.

Alcide patted his shoulder. "Settle down. Nobody's gonna bust on you. Nobody's gonna hurt you. We can only tell because we're used to being around Sookie."

"I… If anyone knew…"

Sookie took a can of Red Bull from Pam and smiled at him while she popped the can open eagerly. "Everyone knows about me. You heard it straight from the horse's mouth. Sheriff Davis would pay anything for his own telepath."

"I don't want to work as one. I want it to stop."

"K. I'll let you know if I ever find out how to make it go away." She leaned against me as she started draining the energy drink as though he didn't exist.

"That's it?"

She seemed annoyed to have to stop drinking to answer him. "Yeah."

He waited until the doors opened to speak again. "Why?"

"Because I have bigger shit to deal with than convincing you to use what you've got instead of making yourself miserable by trying to keep it down. If you change your mind, you know where to find me." She shoved the empty can into her purse and took the fresh one Pam was holding out for her and stepped off the elevator.

He followed with his cart full of our luggage as everyone else filed out of the elevator quietly.

"Are you listening to my thoughts?"

She shook her head and pointed to the room closest to the elevator. "No. Put Pam and Jason in that room please."

He stared at her for a moment before he went to open the door for them.

Pam quipped, "Won't you miss me?"

Sookie snorted, "The less I hear the better."

Barry shook his head. "Your range is that good?"

"Yeah… Wybert and Siegbert can take rooms in between. Alcide and Paulette have the other side of the hall to pick from. We'll take the vampire suite at the end of the hall." Sookie was doing her best to seem dismissive of Barry's ability.

Pam winked and slid two more cans into Sookie's purse before she grabbed her bags from the cart and tugged Jason inside their room.

Since Barry seemed completely lost, Alcide took over distributing room assignments and grabbed his things. As he disappeared into his room, he said he'd be back to our room in 15 minutes… He knew we had plans to make. He'd read the journal.

It took Sookie snapping her fingers in front of Barry's face to get him to snap out of his daze.

Barry still seemed anxious as I put Hunter down so that he could tear off in search of a 'potty'. Once Hunter was out of sight, Barry stared at Sookie while she guzzled another Red Bull and threw all three of her empty cans into the garbage.

She raised an eyebrow at him as she grabbed our suitcases. "Good luck. You won't get in."

"How the hell do you do that?"

"It's too complicated for you since you don't apply yourself. I shore up my shields and insulate that by Eric's thoughts. I'm on my own during the day, but my shields are stronger than yours from practice."

"The kid… He was doing it too."

"Yeah. I taught him last night. The last thing that baby needs is to hear the creeps downstairs fanaticizing about being bit and screwed to death." She wandered into one of the bedrooms with our suitcases and then back out to take Hunter's to the other… and back again. Her energy was already starting to increase. She stopped in front of the boy after grabbing her purse. "I told you that you won't get in."

"Teach me how to do that."

"Sorry kid. Your shields need more oomph. You need to practice…"

"This is the only job I can handle without going nuts. Vampires are the only peace I can get."

"Me too. I worked as a waitress for years…"

"How did you manage that? All those thoughts, I'd go nuts." Hunter ran back into the room with a very relieved look on his face and stood on the sofa I was leaning against to watch with me.

"If I hadn't then I wouldn't have any practice keeping up my shields. You've been hiding around vampires too long."

Hunter giggled. "She's like a super telepath. If you practice, she can teach you a bunch."

Barry blurted, "Who taught you? How are you so… I'm going to go nuts."

"I'm self taught. I'm going to take it that you're the only one in your family that's a telepath."

"Yeah. Everyone else is normal. Is your brother one too?"

"No. Just me. Do yourself a favor and be around people more."

"Can you hear vampires?"

"No. You should think about what Davis said too. He's paying me more than you make all year to poke around pets' brains for him."

"No way! That much?"

She shrugged and put his tip in his hand. "I'm verified. Now scoot. I have stuff to do."

"Like what?"

"Figure out how to find a missing vampire in a town crawling with bible-thumping jackasses. And I still have to get changed." She reached for his shoulder and turned him, leading him to the door.

He resisted, "_But… please… I don't know how to start_."

"Start what? There's no sense in helping you if you aren't going to do anything with it."

"If I could keep myself sane, I would though. I can't be a damn bellboy my whole life."

"Then I'll see you tomorrow afternoon. I'm booked for the night."

He looked like he was about to cry. "Really? Promise?"

"Yeah. Meet me in the lobby at one. We'll go out to lunch."

She leaned against the door once it was closed, grinning ear to ear and holding her finger in the air when Hunter started to giggle.

He very seriously mashed his lips together to keep himself together until Sookie signaled him… then he laughed until he slumped over the side of the sofa.

"Alright kiddo, Eric and I have to go out for a bit so you're going to be hanging out with Jason."

"I want to go too."

I shook my head. "Not tonight. This isn't a meeting. We have to go get a vampire who's been mistreated for nearly a week. He won't be friendly until he's had the chance to heal."

He flung himself onto the sofa with his arms crossed and mumbled 'not fair' while Sookie took a sip of her last Red Bull and walked towards our room.

"I thought we were going to that bar, The Bat's Wing."

"We will eventually, but we already know that the Church is holding Ferrell. We just need to plan his liberation so that you can come back and get some rest."

She shrugged. "Perking up as we speak. What should I wear to a vampire extraction?"

"Don't worry about changing. I'm enjoying those shorts."

She smirked and started opening her suitcase and held up a little dark gray dress. "I thought you'd like this more." She wiggled her eyebrows while I ate my words. The bodice of the dress was put together like a wrap, overlapping at the waist, and barely touching at the neck and the skirt was playfully short. She slid her hand into the gap on the bodice for effect. "I was thinking that it would make for an interesting elevator trip, but… _oh well_." She sighed and tossed in onto the bed. She was teasing me.

"Tomorrow night."

She giggled as she came to me and laid her head on my chest. "Barry's a mess. Hunter has better control."

"He'll have an excellent coach."

"From your lips to God's ears…"

"Hunter is already grateful for your help."

"He's terrified of vampires, but it's the only peace he gets… Then again, he sees a lot of feeding type of stuff working here. Bloody sheets, glamoured fangbangers…"

"The fun stuff."

She giggled. "No… the fun stuff includes bloody sheets and _you_."

"Now that you have some energy, you're teasing me. I think I liked it when you were sleepy."

She hummed. "I'm not teasing you. I'm complaining that we don't have time to break in the bed." _Oh really?_

She squealed when I picked her up and carried her to the bed, laying down and keeping her on top of me. "We have time to break the bed."

She laughed and batted at my arms. "I said break it in, not break it. And no, we don't have time… for either one… Alcide is waiting in the hall for the rest of them."

"I think I like it when you put up a fight. Squirm again."

The look she gave me… I knew I was fucked before she started 'squirming'… pulling her legs up each side of me quickly and pushing back against my chest… rubbing herself against my cock until my fangs ran out… she ruined me in less than a minute. "Like that?"

"That was cruel." It didn't keep me from grabbing her thighs to keep moving her.

Her eyes rolled back and the way she bit her lip made Ferrell's life less important. "Then you should let me up before we forget that we have something else to do."

"Pay for your freedom with a kiss."

"That isn't going to help matters…"

"You started this by teasing me. I want a kiss."

Her eyebrow twitched as she lowered herself, stopping just shy. "You're punishing me for teasing you. I don't want to leave. Now that I have some energy_, I want to use it with you_."

"You're still teasing me."

She shook her head slightly before her lips met mine…

Reaching for my hands and lacing our fingers together…

And only pulling away once there was a knock on the door to the suite.

Alcide knowing more about the situation was problematic considering that the Berts were in tow. How the fuck to explain how we knew about Ferrell's location without having them believing that Sookie could read vampires' minds was a mystery…

Or at least it was until Sookie went for her drink and stopped mid-stride. "Y'all know."

Wybert's eyes widened. He was silent for a moment before he nodded. "How?"

"Y'all are usually so calm it's like white noise. Not so much all of a sudden... Do you know about other trips to Dallas?"

"No."

Since Quinn couldn't be bothered to arrive on time, with the rest of our security, I took advantage of his tardiness. "We do. This vampire that Davis is concerned about, if he hasn't been ended, is being held in the Fellowship Church. Their intention is to burn him at dawn tomorrow. In the experience we had, the other one was traded in exchange for Compton and his maker under the condition that it be done immediately rather than waiting."

Siegbert grinned. "Good trade."

"I have it on video if you'd like to watch it. Alcide can't watch it enough times."

Alcide started to chuckle. "It's awesome. I want it on my phone so I can watch it whenever I want to… Anyway, that version was no problem for Sookie because, this Hugo guy, was an easy read and he was a spy for the church, but Hugo isn't here. So we kind of have to figure out how to cut out the middle man without Sookie looking like she can read y'alls minds."

Wybert grumbled, "And freeing vampire."

Sookie snorted and sat on the arm of the sofa. "I don't suppose y'all would just let me go in and get Ferrell with Quinn as my 'meat shield'?"

Every one of us barked, "NO."

She whined, "But it's the Fellowship. They'll be armed against vampires. I care about all of y'all."

She was serious. She actually wanted me to let her go in by herself. "No. A vampire is going to need to carry Ferrell out…"

"I'm stronger now…"

"It's not his weight. Do you think they've been feeding him?" The other Ferrell had been tortured too. Sookie wouldn't be safe near him even if her scent didn't already get more attention.

She cringed. "Shit."

"Exactly…" That was it. Figuring out how Sookie would know about Ferrell's whereabouts was the problem. We were stuck.

With the exception of when Hunter came from pouting in his room to ask the Berts what part of Saxony they were from, we all quietly pondered our problem for the next few minutes… until Quinn finally arrived 10 minutes late.

Alcide opened the door for him and without warning, he drilled his fist into Quinn's stomach and left him in a heap at the threshold. "Next time I say '10 minutes' and you wait 20, it'll be your dick, asshole."

That was an impossible distraction. We were supposed to be coming to a brilliant solution to the problem at hand. Instead, we were all laughing at the Tiger's pain. It felt like it took forever to get back on track.

Once Sookie drained her last can, Alcide watched her take it to the garbage and it seemed like a light came on. "She needs more Red Bull."

"I'll call room service in a bit…"

"No… Go. Get. It. You two run down to the bar… See if anyone in there is thinking about what's going on. Maybe you can find _**someone**_ who knows _**something**_." He might as well have been winking and nudging. If Stan wasn't in the lobby waiting for us, we could've just said that we'd gone to the bar, but we actually needed to physically go downstairs to make a show of finding our pretend Patsy whose thoughts Sookie _wouldn't be able to pinpoint_.

"You're getting a fucking raise."

"I'll settle for a tip. Bring one back for me. Sookie never shares. I'll watch Hunter."

Sookie smiled up at me while we rode the elevator.

"Your guard is proving to be worth his weight in kibble."

She snorted and turned her attention to the elevator buttons. "I don't want you to get hurt. They'll have silver… and stakes…"

"You could be hurt too. We'll just have to be careful."

Her grip on my hand tightened, but she didn't say anything else…

She waved at Davis as we walked through the lobby to the bar…

She quietly scanned the customers while we waited for the bartender to get a case of drinks from the cooler…

She sent a pair of donors up to 906 and 908 for the Berts since she found their type (thick brunettes pumping A positive) and then called to tell them dinner was on the way.

When we went back through the lobby, Stan Davis had been joined.

Instead of waving again, Sookie went over to him. "The Berts are feeding now. We'll be back down and ready to go in just a few minutes. I just ran down for some 'go juice'."

"Of course. I'm sorry that the matter is too urgent to let you rest."

"I get it. Don't worry about it. Who are your friends?"

"When I called my second to let her know she didn't need to watch the lobby of the Prescott, she decided to join me. Isabel Beaumont."

I gave a nod and Sookie offered a 'nice to meet you' and then stared at the man behind Isabel's shoulder.

Stan grinned curiously before he introduced the man. "My apologies. I don't think to introduce pets. That is Isabel's pet, Hugh."

Isabel corrected, "Hugo."

Sookie nodded thoughtfully for a moment. "Sorry to hear it."

Isabel shook her head. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, Hugo was thinking that Polly was going to be pissed that he didn't have any information about me."

Hugo's mistress whipped her head around to threaten him with a look. "Who is Polly?"

He sputtered and backed away. "I… I… She… I…"

Sookie shook her head and advanced on the man, backing him into a chair and looming over him. "Where are they holding Ferrell, Hugo?"

The man knew what would happen as soon as they had all of the information they needed. He just shook his head.

"Who is at the church right now?"

The man started to cry as an alternative to answering. Isabel threatened to glamour him.

Sookie held her hand up to quiet her. "How many?"

When he tried to get up, Sookie caught him by his tie and yanked him back.

"How do I get down to Ferrell's cell?" When he unwillingly gave her another silent answer, Sookie turned to look at me. "Eric? Anything else?"

"Are they armed?"

She shook her head.

"Then, I think you're done with him for now."

She slapped his cheek when stood up and came back to my side. "Oh kee doh kee Sheriff, call around and gather a posse so we can go get our nest mate. Ferrell's been starved and tortured with silver so you're going to need some donors too."

Stan looked like he'd been the one she slapped. "He knows everything?"

"He wasn't part of the abduction, but he's been feeding Polly Blythe information and found out about Ferrell's sacrifice from her. The church is having a lock in tonight. The church is full of human women and children and Ferrell is to be part of the 'sunrise service'. They have cameras coming out of the wahzoo. No fangs. No fight. We need to get in, free Ferrell and leave."

"I want…"

"The last thing you need to do is have footage of your vampires storming the castle, bullying 'innocent' humans. In. Ferrell. Out. Anything else will make headline news and give those freaks more power, more numbers."

His fangs ran out. "They should pay for what they've done."

She took a step closer to him, feeling nothing but sympathy. "Yes sir, they should. Do it one at a time. Give Ferrell the chance to recover and serve his own justice to his torturer. This is why you hired me. As a defense. I can't do my job if you're going to fly off the handle. You're right to be worried about your friend, and I'm right to be worried about your image."

He narrowed his eyes and nodded slowly.

"In. Ferrell. Out. Say it or we leave so that we don't get caught up in the shit storm."

He growled, "In. Ferrell. Out."

"Settle the score later. No witnesses. No publicity. Tell me you see the logic. Tell me you're going to be practical and use the common sense that's kept you alive for 700 years."

His jaw clenched, but he agreed with a nod.

She nodded and turned her attention to Isabel. "You can't kill him until Ferrell is free. We might need him."

Her nostrils flared. Her fangs had cut through her lip. Hugo was going to suffer for a very long time at her hands. "Thank you, Miss Stackhouse. I'll bring him along."


	22. Chapter 22

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 22**

**Freedom**

Hunter scowled at us while we collected Alcide, the Berts, _and begrudgingly Quinn_. The boy was angry and accused us of 'ditching' him and treating him like a baby. It didn't make him back down in the slightest when I told him that if I had my way, Sookie would be keeping him company instead of being part of the possible fray.

Two.

Count them, _**TWO**_ stubborn telepaths. The universe was punishing me for complaining about Pam.

Sookie raised an eyebrow as her way of calling me a hypocrite when I told Pam she wouldn't be joining us, giving the same reasons as Sookie had given for not wanting me to go.

Surprisingly, Pam hadn't been indignant about holding off her plans or missing the 'excitement' so that she and Jason could babysit… Jason was ordering ice cream from room service and Pam was rummaging for Hunter's Land Before Time movies when we left. Paulette was working on putting together the wards for our rooms so that she could join them… Otherwise she'd have been 'up a wall with worry' until we came back.

There was a collection of cars at the curb outside. Stan and Isobel were standing next to the valet service waiting for us with no less than 20 other vampires… All of them were hissing or snarling like I would've been if Sookie or Pam were in Ferrell's place, but they would be the only ones I'd care enough about to be so bothered. I had to assume that they were annoyed on principle, give them the benefit of the doubt that the Church was a much bigger problem for them than they were in my Area…

I might have shown my surprise when Stan Davis opened the door to his car for Sookie. I know that no less than 4 of the 'posse' did.

Alcide, Sookie and I rode in Stan's Jag while the rest of the hunting party followed in close procession.

The building looked like any normal, innocent tabernacle. A tad ostentatious considering that Christians were supposedly 'humble' before their God, but that's what made it so fucking funny.

The parking lot was full of sedans and minivans and (maybe because of Hunter) I noticed that most of the vehicles had boosters of some sort. Judging by the quantity of cars, there had to be close to 50 families inside… The number of children that Newlin would have stand witness a murder, vampire or not, only added to how demented he must've been.

More than half of the vampires were close to bloodlust when we arrived at the church… Davis had to race to put himself in their way, running across the lawn between the parking area and the entrance, holding his arms up to command the rest of them to stop.

"We have a plan. You will adhere to it or you will be punished severely."

A woman, too young to have any business being along for something so intricate, hissed at Stan. "Who is 'we'?"

"The Sheriff of Louisiana, Area 5 has allowed me the use of his telepath. She is contracted by Queen Leclerq. _**Our King**_ contacted me tonight to explain that I am to show her the respect due her talent."

Another woman, older and calmer evaluated Sookie. "What could she have to offer? She seems like just another blood bag to me." Only because she was downwind of Sookie. The Berts moved to stand on either side of us.

"She's a very highly regarded telepath. In just over a week, she's saved the life and standing of her Queen. She's to be taken seriously. She's on our side. She's come a long way to help us find our brother. Since it's been so long since we've been human, she has a lot to offer this situation."

The older woman showed her fangs. "We should just drain her with the rest of the…" That was all she managed to say before Alcide made his way through the crowd to grab her by the back of her neck and pin her to the ground. Score one for diplomacy. If it weren't for the angle, she could've easily killed him, but he was using leverage and surprise to his advantage. And again, Quinn might as well have been licking a window.

Stan's arms went up again. "That wouldn't be good for your health, Ingrid. She has my protection while she's in my Area. Is everyone clear?"

A wave of silent agreement swept over the group and when Ingrid said 'crystal', Alcide took his hand from her neck and offered it to help her up. The confused look she gave him when she was vertical again was adorable.

Stan introduced Sookie and took a step back to turn things over to her. She smiled nervously. Not because of the vampires or their mood; I'm sure she'd never addressed an assembly before. "Ummm… I know y'all are pissed. Not only have humans taken your friend captive, but now your sheriff is telling you to listen to one… I get it. But I'm not like them. They make me sick. I've seen enough hate. Humans have been doing it to each other since y'all were still breathing. You know all they need is an excuse. If you go in there, fangs out with vinegar in your veins, you're just going to create another generation of fearing and hating and you're the ones who have to deal with that. You'll be around a lot longer than they will…"

A small impatient fuck stepped forward from the rear of the group. "What do you suggest we do? Leave money in their offering plate?"

She shook her head. "The worst thing we can do is leave a body count. Don't keep anyone from running out. Let the frightened ones leave. Ferrell is why we're here..." She closed her eyes for a moment, focusing on the people inside, but the group outside was hopelessly anxious. They wanted blood. She would be furious, but if there wasn't an immediate improvement, I was going to put her on the roof of the building so that she wouldn't be hurt while the bloodthirsty Texans did whatever the fuck they wanted. "…There are about 40 children and 30 women inside and out of the two dozen men in there, the few that are armed don't know what the hell to do if they were ever faced with a vampire. Nearly everyone is in the chapel, story time… Steve Newlin and his wife are…"

Someone growled, "We should take them…"

Sookie's eyes sprang open. "Perfect! Why don't you go inside and drain all of them. Because that will fix your problem. Because everyone knows that the best way to get rid of bigotry is to give them what they want… They want a reason to be scared."

"If we kill them all…"

"IF YOU KILL THEM ALL, then people who are only marginally apprehensive are going to go ape-shit and there won't be anyone who would watch news of the slaughter and defend you. If you kill them all, you run the risk of having the US government CLEANSE the states. Slavery, apartheid, racial cleansing, racial profiling, relocation camps, the KKK, neo-Nazis… all of it was done by humans _**TO**_ humans! What the hell do you think is going to happen if 20 vampires run riot and drain a church full of innocents!? I'll tell you what'll happen. You're going to need to run, write off your property and American accounts as a wash… Since news is worldwide, there won't be a safe corner to crawl into. And in case none of you have noticed over the last few centuries, America is a global trendsetter. If they roll up the welcome mat, everyone else could follow suit and y'all end up collecting in wastelands with no population to feed from! The reality, the harsh, sad, infuriating reality is that the inmates are running the asylum. Your dinner can and will end you if they're pushed. If you don't like it, develop a taste for roo and go on a walkabout Down Under. Until then, try to realize for one brief second that I'm trying to help you to not get a stake in your heart before your next birthday."

"They all get to walk away? They all get away with torturing him? How can you stand there…?"

"Just for now. In a few weeks, whatever. But we aren't here to settle scores tonight…"

He hissed, "What would you do if it was your master?"

She gnashed her teeth to hide that she'd gotten a sudden, stabbing pain in her chest. "I'd kill every son of a bitch who tried to get in my way. I'd kill them and wouldn't wait to hear their bodies hit the floor. But there's a catch. I'm still human. We've been killing each other for long enough that it barely makes the news anymore. Y'all have to believe me. I hate this for you. Really… Can we get back on track? Ferrell could've fed by now."

Everyone either nodded or acted as though they'd humor her.

"Ok. So… Give or take 40 kids, 30 women, 20 men… we've got a few wild cards to deal with. I'm not close enough to get anything exact, but there are 3 Weres. I haven't heard any Bible thumping from them, but there's a lot going on in there. Right now there is a human with Ferrell… the big shock is that there is a vampire inside… _free range_. I've felt him moving around pretty freely. Not like Ferrell. I hate to say it, but Ferrell doesn't seem conscious… the other vampire is cool as a cucumber."

A hoarse voice attached to a minute man with wiry hair barked, "You can hear vampire thoughts!? We were told…"

She put her hands up defensively. "Long story short, I can feel your minds. The more upset you are, the busier you mind is… If I have to compare it to something, Ferrell's mind is like it would be if he were dead for the day."

The woman that Alcide pinned asked softly, "Miss Stackhouse, what is the man doing with Ferrell?"

Sookie grimaced, her hand tightening around mine. "We should stop squabbling and get in there…"

I took over. "Quinn. Locate and keep watch over the Weres inside just in case they think about causing trouble. Everyone else, line up as we go in, stay close to form a gauntlet. They won't act out because they want us to fuck up. No fangs. No violence. Be minimally defensive. Follow us. Sookie will free him of his chains and he'll be carried out and taken to feed."

Sookie giggled when she knocked on the door that had clearly been designed as though parishioners would ride elephants to services. The idea of 'knocking politely' struck an ironic nerve for her given our reason for being there.

The graying woman who opened the door noticed me, then Sookie before she plastered a fake grin over her confusion. "How can I help you?"

Sookie matched the fake smile and took a step towards her. "Well, Polly, we're here to pick up a friend of ours."

"Oh, I didn't realize anyone was leaving. You see, we're having a lock in…"

"I heard, but our friend isn't feeling well."

"_Awwww_. Shame. _Who is it_?"

"Ferrell."

"Mister? Missus?"

"Just Ferrell. Don't tell me you don't know his name. Y'all have been starving and torturing the poor soul for nearly a week."

The woman's eyes widened and she tried to close the door in our faces. Sookie and I stopped it, pushing it just hard enough to get through without a show of strength. It didn't seem like Polly had noticed the rest of the group until they were walking past her.

Sookie laughed wryly, "Never mind us. We'll be out of your hair really quick. Ingrid, Polly is very seriously thinking about the stakes that are stashed in the coat check room. Would you mind discouraging that?"

Polly kept with us, shaking her head. "You can't just…"

"Yes we can, Polly."

"You're trespassing!"

"Yes, ma'am. We sure are. Why don't you give the police a call. I'm sure they'll be just as interested in the peaceful members of our rescue party as they are in the battered and abused man you have in the basement of a church."

"He's not human!"

Sookie shook her head and mumbled in disgust, "Neither are you."

As Sookie and I made our way down the long hallway past the business offices with Stan, Isobel and our guards, we could hear the commotion of several people leaving in panic.

Women gasping, men grumbling, children whispering… What we didn't hear was the first pair of fangs run out. We didn't hear the first hiss. We didn't hear the first growl. Somehow, Sookie managed to coax roughly 2 dozen vampires out of a bloodlust and not feel the slightest spark of pride… She was too focused on the task… determined, worried, shamed…

Her grip on my hand seemed to tighten with every step we took.

In an effort to make sure she understood, I started, "You need to get away from him the second he's free." I didn't want it to be left to chance. He could very easily hurt her if she tried to stay with him, dote over him… her sweet nature could be her undoing. It had put her in too many dangerous situations already.

"I know."

"He'll be weak and Stan and I will have a hold on him, but he's still a danger to you."

"Ok."

"Sookie, are you alright?"

She nodded and gulped air.

"What are you doing? What are you keeping from the bond?"

"Just the urge to barf. The last thing we need is for both of us to feel sick."

Siegbert chuckled from just behind us. "Too kind. Not alone. Some vampire shame own too." He would know better than most since he was Hadley's 'big brodder'.

She forced a grin and glanced at him over her shoulder. "I guess you're right, but it still surprises me."

"Understand with time. You are baby."

She mumbled, "I hope not. I don't want to get used to it. I want it to go away."

"Your lips, God's ears. Is saying, yes?" A saying she'd used barely an hour earlier.

She giggled, casting another smile over her shoulder. That one was more genuine. "Amen."

I couldn't help but be surprised when Stan, both Berts, Alcide and Isobel echoed her 'amen' quietly.

The stench of scorched flesh and blood rushed out of the basement as soon as the door opened. The silence and feigned calm behind us was a contrast to the insanity waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

Sookie ejected my hand from hers, picking up speed… whether it was the sadistic thoughts of Ferrell's torturer or the vampire's reflexive groans that made her so anxious to get to the door to Ferrell's cell, I wasn't sure.

The door was left cracked… the lunatic inside was boastfully certain that he'd be uninterrupted during his games.

Sookie's hands touched the door when she stopped. Her chin was trembling before she choked on the faintest whisper. "Ferrell, we're gonna get you outta here." By the time she turned around, her face was streaked with tears. "He's too weak to respond… nothing… nothing about his mind… I don't think he knows where he is… The guy… he… we need a… he's covered in blood and some kind of… foil… we need a… a… blanket or…"

Silver leafing. It would stick to nearly anything moist… it was so light that it would pucker with the burning flesh under it, fusing into the wounds. I knew the technique well. Sookie's concern for the vampire's state was nothing compared to how worried I was for her. Rene's escapades would pale in comparison once she saw what was waiting on the other side of the door she could barely bring herself to touch.

Before she could finish asking, Isobel left in a silent blur, returning only a moment later with a sleeping bag with large cartoon samurai on it.

Sookie thanked her with a nod. "He's got silver… on his hands…"

Stan nodded. "We'll move quickly. Where is he?"

Sookie turned to face the door again. "11 o'clock. 10 feet in…" She took a couple of steps back and stared at the door, waiting. Finally… "His back is to the door."

The human never saw us enter the room. He was too busy pressing sheets of leafing into Ferrell's chest… the vampire was too weak to react from his crucified position against the wall.

He'd been stripped of his pride. His clothes were gone. His skin had been burned with silver and a small torch. He'd been pissed on and spit on… and there were Bible verses written along his arms and legs that were blurred by all of the blood that had been dumped on him rather than fed to him… Even the jugs of butcher shop pigs' blood would've been tempting to him after a day or two in the silver shackles that had dug into his wrists and ankles to expose the bone underneath.

While the Berts held the bigot against another wall, Alcide yanked the man's shirt over his head and pulled it down over his silver polluted hands… Everything happened too quickly for him to think about putting up a fight before Wybert pressed his thumb into his neck until he slumped into unconsciousness.

Sookie ran to the far corner, slipping on the putrid slick of blood… picking up and shaking empty bottle after empty bottle, hoping to find a True Blood that hadn't been dumped over Ferrell's head as a measure of cruelty. Feeling only slightly victorious when she found two…

She walked over to Ferrell, rubbing the bottles furiously over her hips as she moved… tucking one between her thighs as she opened the first and sobbing her apology for the fact that it was cold as she used his hair to tilt his head back and inch the bottle to his lips.

She asked for water so that she could rinse away the silver caked into his wounds while she trickled True Blood down his throat without a hint that he was going to recover… After only a week of human torture, he shouldn't have been so comatose…

Patting his cheeks to provoke a stir didn't work for her. She grabbed his chin to shake his head only to have synthetic dribble out of his mouth and down her arm. "Eric? I don't get it… Why would he…?"

At a loss, I shook my head. "Unless he's been fed silver, I can't think of a reason…" When Isobel returned again, this time with an arm full of water bottles, I took my own to start rinsing the scum away from him. "He isn't conscious so don't worry about hurting him… sweep the silver away and move on to the next area."

She choked, "Like a Band-Aid" to no one in particular, trembling enough that I felt like I was too. She wasn't holding up well at all.

She started at his wrist, next to his shackle, pouring the water and pushing the silver particles away, whimpering when they were stuck, crying harder when she had to dig small bits out of his underarm with her fingernails…

"Son of a bitch!" She stopped working for a moment to study his neck. "Look around… they've been injecting him with something… it looks like there was a catheter in his neck."

Isobel started studying the floor. "A catheter?"

Sookie went back to her task of rinsing Ferrell again. "It's a medical device… Clear. Plastic. Doctors use it when they want to keep veins open… like with regular medications… It can leave a big bruise and… the tape leaves a film behind, like a shadow."

"You know it?"

"I held my aunt's hand through several…"

Alcide interrupted by growling. "Got something… bro… brodi… fucking medicine names… Why can't they just call shit what it does?"

Sookie was suddenly fighting the urge to be sick again, but she didn't have it in her to block it from me. I was trying to not be overwhelmed when her voice shook, "Brodifacoum?"

"Bingo! Nothing but the label left. The bottle was crushed. You know what it is?"

Sookie covered her mouth and stared up at Ferrell. "It's… it's rat poison… an… anticoagulant… those bastards…"

Alcide scowled at the lump of shit bigot on the floor. "They turned him into a hemophiliac?"

She nodded, still hiding behind her hand for a moment before she turned to Stan. "The donors… he needs them… This synthetic crap isn't going to help, is it?"

"Is there an antidote? Something…"

Her throat clenched as she turned to finish cleaning Ferrell, summoning some steel from an unexpected reserve. "Humans need vitamin K when they can't clot… umm… I know grapes, kiwi… broccoli… would that help undo it…? Maybe if the donors gorge on some?"

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called someone to have them start force-feeding fruit and vitamins to the waiting donors if necessary.

It took a lot of work (and a well's worth of tears) before we were ready to move.

Sookie was close to hyperventilating when she freed Ferrell's ankles from the shackles holding his feet to the floor… the slight shift when his legs were free to go limp was enough for the True Blood Sookie had poured so carefully into his mouth to spill out of his lower orifices. Isobel gasped, "Typhoid" at the sight of the horrifying symptom and shed a few tears of her own.

There was still some silver imbedded in Ferrell's torso when Stan and I wrapped him in the sleepingbag… scaling was going to be the only way to get some of the silver out of his skin… Live donors and a proper bath were going to be necessary if his condition was going to improve at all… Not possible with the timebomb waiting upstairs.

There was still a hearty gathering of gawking humans left in the chapel as we left the hallway, carrying Ferrell from his hell. The room stunk of fear induced adrenaline thanks to the dozen or so adults in the room. Three of them had video cameras and one had the audacity to approach us to document Ferrell's condition.

Sookie and I seemed to notice that Steve Newlin himself was in attendance at the same time.

He raised his voice for the effect of the echo. "The Whore of Babylon!"

Sookie knew that he was talking about her. She scoffed, still wiping tears from her face. "What does that make you? The mayor of Gomorrah?"

"Rescuing him was pointless. He'll meet his final judgment."

"As will we all, Mr. Newlin, but it won't happen at the hands of a monster like you."

"I'm the monster!? Look at them. What do you call vampires?"

"Animals. We're all animals. Near as I can tell, the only things that separate us from all the other animals are thumbs and a book that you've interpreted to justify the torture of a _**feeling, thinking**_ being…" She turned her attention from him to his flock. "Let me ask y'all something. If you found out that your neighbor had done THAT to a dog, how likely are you to welcome that lunatic into your home, have him talk to your children, ask him to advise you on anything?"

She was met with emotionless faces and Newlin's chuckling. "They're lower than dogs. They're an abomination."

"The Bible doesn't own the word abomination. Pride, greed, vanity… _**abominations**_… that almost everyone is guilty of at one point or another. The word just means something to hate… like gas prices." A few of the vampires thought it was worth a chuckle.

"God will judge me. Not you."

Her head tilted to the side, stopping in her tracks to turn to him. If it hadn't been for the fact that Ferrell would've been on a collision course with the stone floor, I'd have grabbed her and taken her outside. I felt her snap. It felt like my own breaking point. Her emotions, the positive ones that kept her human, shut off. She wasn't blocking them from me. They just disappeared. "Who are you to judge them then? Who are you to say that their lives are wrong? Standing here in your 'church' are 6 vampires older than Christianity, old enough to tell stories about the good old days before jerks like you started hiding behind Christ. You need to read your Bible again if you've forgotten who Christ was. He'd have embraced vampires, learned from them, accepted them as one of his father's creations. You. Are. Not. God. You are a pathetic little man who hides his ignorance under a veil of righteousness. You've raised a pulpit on the rock of shock value and I have the utmost faith in _**my God**_ that you'll burn for the lies and hate you spread against a race of people who want nothing more than to live the lives they lose every morning and miraculously get back every night. In all your little speeches that are nothing more than an excuse to hear yourself talk, I've heard you quote the Bible backwards and forwards and every time you manage to miss the passages that include vampires…"

"There are no vampires in the Bible!" I was expecting her to mention her grandmother's theory about Adam and Eve, or maybe mention that she subscribed to the more common belief that Lazarus was a vampire…

"Oh… _how wrong you are_… Methuselah was nearly a thousand years old and he was considered righteous enough to be spared from the flood… And I think that you might be forgetting the best part of all of this. The irony. You're such a good Christian… I'm sure you know that after Christ died, and he rose 3 nights later, his mother took his pet, Mary Magdalene to him. _**They**_ tended to him… and then he rose to heaven. How's that for theory, Smarty Pants? I think I'll form my own church since we're allowed to infer whatever we want. I think, given the Bible's timeline and longevity claims that humans are an offshoot of vampires and not the other way around. Lives got shorter. Only the righteous enjoyed long lives or were given special abilities… and the only way to become a vampire is to be chosen. There's a vampire in this room who can walk on water… another who can heal the injured… JUST LIKE JESUS! You know, GOD'S SON! In fact, you should call God to be sure, since you claim to have a direct line and all, but some of those saints lived a while too. I like it." I couldn't walk on water, I could just float over it… but it was an amusing point… and I couldn't help but be proud of her for leaving the healing attributes vague.

"That's completely ridiculous!"

She made a show of scanning Newlin's followers. "I think you've already proven that some idiots will believe just about anything if the lie comes in a flashy suit and hair gel. If you'll excuse us, we need to tend to the man you objectified… then I'm going shopping for an offering plate and a fill-in-the-blanks Bible like yours. I'll see you around, Sport… Godfrey, I know you're listening from the balcony, you coward. Word to the wise… Every man stumbles along his path, but only a fool lets another man drag him down theirs. Whatever your plans are, you need to unhitch your wagon."

On her way to the door, she snatched the video camera out of the annoying cameraman's hands and ejected the cartridge. "Just do an internet search for 'Steve Newlin Vampire Torture'. You'll find it." She held the tape in the air as she strolled out. "Hey Steve, when you talk to God, tell him I said thanks for sending me someone I can trust. I'm suddenly blessed with marvelous company."

Sookie asked Stan who would be tending to Ferrell during the day, volunteering for the job so that she could be sure he'd be taken care of, but he graciously declined and explained that Ferrell would be well cared for, promising that she'd get word by dawn. I wouldn't have allowed it anyway, but she'd have been willing to argue about it.

While Sookie dotingly watched us load Ferrell's body into the back seat of an SUV, she explained that 'Godfrey', AKA Godric, had gone to the Church as a renouncer. His suicide plans were only sweetened by his offer to bring them another vampire to burn… Polly was proud enough to have been thinking that Godfrey was doing the 'right thing' and that Hugo was probably to blame for their spoiled plans.

Ingrid carefully approached us to explain that it would be her honor to take our party back to our hotel.

Sookie settled against my side on the middle row of seats in Ingrid's Expedition, careful to keep her hands tucked under her arms, with Alcide in the front and Quinn sandwiched between the Berts in the back.

We were nearly back to our hotel before anyone said anything.

It had to be Quinn. "Vampire Church, huh?"

Sookie didn't move other than to say, "One joke and I will have you dragged through a cactus farm by your junk. I was proving a point."

"I was just kidding… Hey, those Weres inside. They're uh… checking things out. Spies for the local packs. You know, for when we go public. That's all…"

"I know. I heard."

"Oh… I didn't realize you were listening…"

"I listened to everyone."

"Cool. I got a phone number… _Luna_…"

Without warning, Sookie spun around and leaned over the seat to put her face directly in his. "That's awesome! While you were lining up a piece of ass, I was watching True Blood spill out of the body of a poisoned vampire who was too weak to realize that he was being rescued! Yay for Quinn and his booty call! I'll make sure Ferrell knows he was the reason you might get laid while we're here! I'm sure knowing that you get to scratch your itch will soften the blow of having to be filleted to get some of the silver out of his skin! Do you have any idea where those freaks put silver to him!?" When she backed up, we all thought she was going to sit down again… wrong. She punched his nose with enough force that his head whipped back. "You hit your word limit, asswipe!"

Lucky for Quinn, he was just smart enough to take her warning seriously. The only noise he made for the rest of the drive was snorting and sniffling because of his broken nose. Wybert, so generously, realigned it for him. _Gently, of course_.

On the elevator, Alcide motioned to the blood smeared all over Sookie and me. "Why don't y'all use one of the redundant rooms to clean up so Hunter doesn't see that. I'll go to your room and get Pam to run some fresh stuff over to you… Sookie could probably use some time to settle down before dealing with Hunter anyway." Sookie was numb. She wasn't doing it purposefully, but she'd seen the most disgusting thing she'd ever laid eyes on… it was her only defense. Even after the bombing and sorting through ashes and puddles, her concern for Pam had saved her from feeling for those who were ended.

"That's if he's awake. It's nearly 3."

She nodded as we stepped out of the elevator. "He's up. They're watching the second movie. He's waiting for Pam to cry again like she did when the mother died in the first one."

"Shit. Does it bother him?" I hadn't thought she'd have a weepy episode over a dinosaur cartoon.

She shook her head and reached for my hand before she thought better of it. "He thinks it's funny… that she's so sensitive because she tries to hide it."

"I meant the bloody tears."

"Nope. Doesn't seem to have a problem with it… well, he will when he realizes that there's a drop on his new T Rex PJs."

"She cried _**on**_ him?"

"And 'squzzed' him."

"You should've seen her when the shot rang out in Bambi. I had to carry her out of the theater with her face under a coat… She sent Walt Disney hate mail until he died."

Alcide snorted out a laugh. "What was that, 25 years?"

"That sounds right… She's still pissed about Mufasa too." And Tarzan, and she managed to be upset about what Lord Farquaad did to the Gingerbread man in Shrek. She was still carrying a grudge against John Lithgow on principle.

"Is it animals or cartoons?"

"Both."

"Her birthday is next month, right?"

"Yes. Why?"

"My dad's receptionist has a monkey she's trying to find a home for. _Marmoset_, I think."

I couldn't resist. "Why?"

"Damn thing flings food and tries to rape her dog." PERFECT!

"Asking price?"

"$800. Pam wouldn't hurt it, would she… if it shat in her shoes?"

"No. She'd spoil the dammed thing until the only way to make it behave is to spoil it more." Both of them stopped to stare at me. It only took a moment for me to realize what I'd said to make them both look at me like I'd forgotten my helmet… That was exactly how I'd 'tamed' Pam. Fuck. Before either of them had the chance to say anything, because they didn't need to, I continued, "Call the receptionist. Tell her I'll give her an extra grand to hold on to it until next month." Maybe spending $1800 on a gag gift wasn't the best way to deny anything… $5000 by the time Pam was done making sure it had clothes and jewelry to match hers and whatever other convoluted accessories the thing would 'need'.

Alcide started laughing and continued walking when we stopped short at another door. "Aye, aye captain."

Sookie went straight to the bathroom sink and started scrubbing her hands as though she wanted her skin to come off. When I started filling the tub, she shook her head. "I don't want to soak in it. I want to rinse it away."

I nodded and turned the knob for the shower head. "As far as I've seen…"

She shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I like your church idea. It could be fun. You could hold services on YouTube… Humans would buy it…"

"I said I don't want to talk about it." She started stripping off her clothes like they irritated her.

"Can we talk about how you punched Quinn?" _Because that was stunning._

"Especially not that."

When she stepped into the tub, I started removing my clothes to get in with her. "Why not?"

She was quiet until I stepped in behind her. "Because… that was horrible. I don't want to think about it anymore."

"Then all I'll say is that I'm proud of you. You were perfect."

"I'm… Ok." It bothered me that she didn't know what to do with the compliment.

"Try to relax. That's probably the worst that you'll see for a while."

She nodded, letting me take the shampoo to do her hair for her. Her mood was still too intense when Pam came into the room a few minutes later to bring our clothes…

I could only assume that Alcide had given Pam an account of our 'adventure' since she didn't linger to get one from me… She silently left our things on the counter without as much as a glance in our direction.

Once Sookie and I were washed, I wrapped my arm around her to keep her from leaving and started filling the tub. She mumbled that she wanted our phones at hand in case Stan called. She set a towel and our phones on the edge of the tub and climbed back in, letting me put us in the bottom of the tub… She was still wallowing, failing at not thinking about 'it'.

"You're horrible at disregarding things."

"What?"

"You want to stop thinking about what happened tonight, but you haven't managed."

"Oh. My. God. Are you serious? How am I supposed to stop thinking about what I saw? What they did to him?"

"Think about something else."

"Is it that easy for you?"

"For me, yes. I've seen much worse… I understand that set a precedent for you, but you aren't doing yourself any favors by thinking about Ferrell."

"They could've killed him."

"He could still be ended by what they did."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"No. It's a reality that I want you to be prepared for. None of us have any idea how Ferrell's body will react to the poison. If he doesn't start to absorb something tonight, regain consciousness, show some kind of improvement, they'll end him to spare him from withering."

"That's what I was afraid of."

"You need to think about something else."

"How? You saw him. He was so… _wretched_. It was pitiful."

"_You're a pain in the ass_."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You are so kind and loving that you refuse to accept that there are ugly things in the world… you want to change it all." A trait that contradicts her Fae heritage.

"Is that so wrong?"

"No. I'm going to take some of the blame too. Since you've managed to make me happy and give me something to look forward to, you think it'll be that easy with everyone."

She snorted, "Jerk."

"I'm not a jerk. I'm a monster, but I'm a perversely content monster thanks to you… you need to realize that while those humans heard nothing you said, you're a rock star to the vampires of Dallas at the moment. Vampires aren't as easily swayed as humans… Your influence has a bigger impact on them than the humans who ignored you."

"How's that?"

"You said it yourself. Fangs and aggression would have just inspired more fear. They followed your direction tonight in the interest of keeping themselves safe, but it was still a step in the right direction. Humans will continue to provoke us, but because we have nothing if not our survival instinct, we'll fight back quietly. Things will change slowly, as they always do. You'll be around to see it."

"If I don't press my luck, I might live long enough. They were not happy that Davis let me talk to them." I knew why he'd done it. It wouldn't improve her mood to find out that the only reason was because if she had been wrong, they could still run amok and kill everyone. Giving Sookie's tactic a chance to fail wasn't respect; it was his 'plan A'. If everything had gone 'wrong', he'd have had a fall girl, but since everything had gone as well as it could have, he bolstered her reputation and made himself look like a genius for hiring her.

"We're used to change. We've seen a lot of it. Public relations were thrust at us, recently at that. You _are_ helping to change that… even if it is just a few of us at a time."

"Peaceful resistance doesn't really have a lot of miles on it though…"

"Things will settle down and luckily we have the longevity to wait it out. Vampires are just the new niggers…"

She shot away from me, sloshing water out of the tub to get to the other end. "ERIC! I can't believe you just said that!"

I laughed. Between the look on her face and the indignation she was feeling, I couldn't help myself. "I guess you're right… even though it makes up most of America's history of intolerance, Towel Heads and Fags are more recent."

"Oh. My. GOD! Stop talking like that!" She started lifting herself out of the water.

I grabbed her hand, stopping her since I'd goaded her intentionally. "Hold on. I meant that, at the moment, Vampire is a 'dirty' word to certain people just like the others."

"Tell me you don't talk like that. That's horrible!"

"You realize that I know how to offend nearly everyone and everything in several different languages, yes?"

"Gran would've shoved soap into your mouth so fast YOU couldn't have seen it coming!" I could actually picture the little woman coming towards me with a bar.

"I don't use racial slurs. I've met too many to disparage an entire race based on one individual. When I slur someone, I attack their character. It's more fun."

"Really?"

"No. I'm lying so that you don't try to fill my mouth with body wash."

She made an angry face and slapped the back of my hand. "_Sarcastic ass!_"

I laughed again. "I think your grandmother would forgive the usage considering the context."

She narrowed her eyes, realizing that I wasn't insulting anyone, just trying to put the bigotry in question into perspective. "Maybe… I don't like that language. Don't talk like that, please."

"Or what?"

"Or... I'll stop breaking in your shirts for you." She raised her eyebrow, inviting me to volley.

"On the other hand, if I refrain from using such 'language', you would see no point in depriving me of my treats."

She very seriously nodded. "Of course."

"Now that I understand the consequences of said behavior, more importantly, you've agreed to scenting my shirts whenever possible, I need to confess something."

"What?"

"That I only said the 'N' word to piss you off. You needed to be distracted."

She narrowed her eyes in spite of the smile threatening the corners of her mouth. "You devious jerk."

"You love me though."

She inched closer to kiss me. "I absolutely love you."

"You were amazing tonight. Very impressive."

"Really? I was afraid I was getting annoying… I just couldn't make myself stop crying. I couldn't concentrate to stop feeling. I was a mess."

"It endeared you to them. They were all very surprised to see that your feelings contradicted the mauks from the church."

"I'm going to default to you then. I was embarrassed… I guess I should apologize to Quinn too…"

"Don't you dare. He doesn't deserve it. That dolt was trolling for a date while he should've been working. He didn't notice that you'd been threatened. He deserved…"

"Then why did you get pissed when I did it?"

"Because I haven't gotten the chance to hit him. You and Alcide are being greedy."

She giggled, kissing me again. "Don't whine about it. I'm sure he'll give you a reason soon enough."

I actually _did_ whine when we left the spare hotel room without putting more water on the floor. It was just after 4am and Sookie felt guilty for having robbed Pam and Jason.

I was wearing a new pair of pajama pants when we went back to our suite. Sookie had made them a priority on her shopping list.

I almost didn't notice them given the night gown and robe that Sookie had bought herself… the light blue lace of the short, backless gown was miserably hidden under the matching silk robe. I called it a tease, only to be corrected… Sookie called it gift wrap. I couldn't have been discouraged by that if I tried.

Pam and Jason left as we returned without much more than a 'goodnight' and Alcide only stayed long enough to say that he'd already called down to the front desk to apply the do-not-disturb to our rooms and take a Red Bull since they seem to evaporate around Sookie.

As soon as the door was closed, Hunter completely abandoned his movie to hop over the back of the sofa. "Is he ok!?"

Sookie shook her head. "We don't know yet, Sweetie. He was really messed up when we got to the poor guy. We'll have to wait and see."

"Did he go to the hospital?"

"No. Hospitals don't do vampires any good. They heal themselves if they can."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but he was barely alive… Did you have fun?" A blatant attempt to change the subject.

"Yeah! I told Pam about my hobby. She ordered a children's atlas for me! It's getting delivered tomorrow. It's fat. She says I should do cities too because I could get bored waiting for some of the countries."

"She's right. We should get you a pack of Post-its so you can make notes."

"I can't spell yet."

"You need to learn anyway. We'll help you. Did you get your bath and everything? It's time we should start to settle in for the night."

"Yeah. I made a mess with my ice cream so I took a bath between movies."

"Have you brushed your teeth since Jason let you get loaded up on sugar?"

The 'whoops' that appeared on his face made Sookie giggle as he ran to his room.

She busily ejected Hunter's movie and put it back in its case, closing the entertainment center. She took the dishes from their snack and rolled the room service cart out to the hallway…

I sat on the sofa next to an end table with a pair of watery glasses on it, knowing that I'd be on her housekeeping course and waited.

She gathered Hunter's laundry and put it into a bright green mesh hamper, then put ours into a black one…

She dropped his crayons and markers into a bag and arranged the coloring books neatly on the dinette.

When she finally noticed the glasses next to me, I got my chance.

She squeaked when I pulled her onto my legs.

"You've done enough today."

She giggled, raising her eyebrow. "Ok. I'll just go to sleep then."

"Not funny."

She giggled again. "Yes it is. Besides, Hunter's still up. I'm just making use of the time."

"Until what?"

"Until we can go to bed."

"Has everyone else retired for the day?"

She closed her eyes to concentrate and I actually felt as though part of her drifted away from me slightly. "Paulette is dreaming about a trip she took with her brother when they were kids. Alcide is in the shower. The Berts are in their rooms with their donors from before. Quinn is watching wrestling."

"I'm assuming that you don't want to know what Pam and your brother are doing."

She widened her eyes and shook her head vehemently.

I was still chuckling when Hunter joined us by bouncing onto the sofa next to us.

He announced, "All fresh! G'night." When he leaned past me to kiss Sookie, I noticed three tiny stains on his shoulder, but I didn't have the chance to be amused with Pam's dinosaur induced crying jag before he surprised me by kissing my cheek too.

Sookie returned his 'goodnight' and offered to tuck him in as he ran out of the room again, but he declined cheerfully and shut his door.

She turned back to me with a strange smile on her face. "I'm pretty sure that it's mandatory for women to swoon when a sexy guy is great with kids."

I couldn't help but think that she was giving me an 'out', a way to not linger on the fact that a child had just given me a goodnight kiss and how strange it felt. "Mandatory?"

"Sure. I think the rule is that as long as you don't have a suit made out of human skin, I'm to yield to your every craving." She slid off of my lap, taking my hand…

Like I needed to be encouraged to take the invitation...

She untied the sash of her robe slowly, letting it fall to the floor behind where she was standing between my knees. My hands itched as they helped her shrug away the blue shroud to reveal the sexy little slip I hadn't seen enough of before…

The pale pink of her nipples peaked through the tats of the lace as I pushed the hem over her thighs…

Just in time for my fucking phone to ring.

Sookie froze… waiting. Not answering wasn't an option.

"Northman."

"Sheriff. Isobel. My sheriff asked me to call. He asked that I apologize that he didn't call himself, but he's with Ferrell."

"Is there news?"

"It's taken 5 donors, but he's bleeding less and less. His body is absorbing some sustenance finally. He's hardly coherent, but he is responsive." As Sookie smiled, I felt her worry fall away, leaving nothing behind but her typical lightness.

"Sookie is excited to hear of his improvement. She's been plagued by concern for him." She put her hand in the middle of my chest, pushing slightly to persuade me to lie back and hovered over me, nibbling along my ribs.

"We know. Since we've returned to our nest and explained how she's helped, there are several of our comrades who are anxious for her services. Hugo's betrayal is a large factor. I'm to ask if Sookie would have the stamina to proceed with a clinic tonight." Sookie smiled against the skin of my stomach and drew a Y with the tip of her nose, releasing a long warm breath as she slipped lower and lower, hooking her fingers into my waistband and pulling my pants away.

Forcing words past the growl trapped in my throat was not painless. "She'll be fine once she's rested." The path her devilish little mouth was taking punched my skin with chills and I caught myself taking an anticipated breath. She nipped the crease of my hip and bit my thigh before dragging her tongue over the length of my cock, teasing my tip over her lips … looking at me the whole time and enjoying every bit of my torment.

"How do you prefer to execute the clinic? Is there a process that works best for her?" Sookie took more and more, creeping her lips down around me, pushing me to the back of her throat only to drag her teeth away… and back again.

"You'll need a sizable waiting area, but Sookie does her screenings privately. She only needs a small area for that." Sookie spelle along my body with her tongue, one agonizing letter at a time…

"We'd originally thought that she'd perform here at our nest, but in light of the desire for her services, we're sure there isn't room. What was once going to be a requirement has become a privilege. Would you approve of using the conference and meeting facilities at the hotel?" Sookie was straddling my legs, gripping my cock… her strokes were slow, deliberate, cruel as she leaned to put herself eye to eye with me.

"That would be acceptable." She mouthed 'I need you' just before her face disappeared into the crook of my neck. She was hell bent on making sure she had my attention. She teased until my free hand wrapped into her hair…

"Then I'm to make as many arrangements as possible before dawn. Who should I have the hotel coordinate with during the day?" She lifted away, stilling her hand to lower herself on to my dick, tensing around me and hissing her amusement when I gave a grunt.

"Her guard, Alcide Herveaux. He'll be able to see to security measures and since he has experience with Sookie's practices, he'll be suitable to act as my daytime proxy." Her hips rocked, her eyes still locked on mine while she ran her fingertips over my chest, scratching and kneading.

"Are there any comfort measures I should see to?" The longer Sookie teased, the more heat she radiated… Lying under a blanket of warm torture made it nearly impossible to give the phone call even a fraction of my attention.

"Catering is the only thing I can imagine. There are several chewers in our party." When Sookie reached between us, intentionally building my curiosity by moving slowly to finally rub her clit…

"Yes Sheriff. Thank you…" I threw my phone across the room, finally letting my fangs down and grabbing her ass with both hands to move her.

"That was wicked."

She bit her lip, whimpering, finally free to make noise… tightening before she answered… "You love me though."


	23. Chapter 23

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 23**

**Clusterfuck**

The oddest feeling…

Sookie was close. My ring gave away that she was less than 30 feet from me… the sofa in the commons would've been my guess if it weren't for the sounds of life coming from just next to me.

A resting heartbeat and gentle, sleeplike breaths…

The room around me smelled of her strongly enough that the heaviness only confused me more…

I was starting to wonder if the charm on my ring would fade over time, if I'd damaged it, if I'd washed some of its magic away by bathing while wearing it... I wouldn't know, but I should've thought to ask.

When I came into myself fully, my answer was staring me in the face…

Not literally, of course. He was sleeping.

Hunter was curled up on the other side of my bed under a small black blanket decorated with a glow-in-the-dark dinosaur 'x-ray' and a copy of The Children's World Atlas tucked under his chin.

That explained a few things. I'd thought that Sookie smelled like Hunter from spending the day with him, but it was the other way around. I had no idea why the fuck he'd be on my bed instead of his own or why Sookie would've allowed it, but at least my ring wasn't 'broken'.

_Oh, how bizarre my 'life' had become._

I stared at him for a moment, remembering that the other Hunter we'd encountered had already made a habit of sleeping just outside 'my' bedroom door. The proximity to 'my' mind made it easier for him to sleep dreamlessly. The recollection was only solidified by the peaceful grin on his face.

I chuckled at my train of thought when it occurred to me how comfortable Hunter was in the company of Vampires and that Sookie might have some fondness for her own childhood if she'd had us all along. _'Hey Steve, when you talk to God, tell him I said thanks for sending me someone I can trust. I'm suddenly blessed with marvelous company.' _It was no wonder at all why Sookie was so easily accepted… Sookie had scathingly delivered a heated defense of 'the enemy' to her kind in mixed company… Her indignation for Ferrell, while heartfelt, had accidently been a blatant display of loyalty. The problem would be making sure her clients understood that her scales weighed fairness against injustice rather than Vampires against Humans.

They'd learn.

Reaching across our bond for Sookie answered my other questions. She was sleeping just as soundly as Hunter. Another long day, perhaps, but I hoped that the naps were an attempt to shift his schedule all the more.

Enjoying the rare, and probably too fleeting, moment of complete tranquility, I checked my phone for messages of the readable variety in an effort to let them both rest.

I had several things waiting, but none of them were of much concern. They were just a list of confirmations and a progress report of the arrangements for the Dallas Clinic… with a few bonuses.

Instead of being from Isobel or even the hotel's staff, they were all from Alcide…

8:12am: '_I'll never remember all of this shit if I don't give it to you as it happens. If it makes you feel better, I dragged Quinn's ass out of bed and made him follow me.'_

8:31am: _'Of 3 rooms, the biggest is coded for 300 and has 2 green rooms adjoining it. I figure 1 for Sookie to do business and 1 to start the collection of mfs.'_ I assumed 'mfs' meant the _**M**_other _**F**_uckers that we were going to use as an ice breaker to get Newlin to talk.

8:35am: _'I have Quinn setting up chairs in the reception hall so that everyone can file in and then be seen in order unless Jason or Sookie have a reason to do otherwise.'_

9:08am: '_Quinn just got done rotating 270 chairs 180 degrees. Because I felt like it._' I laughed through my nose so that I wouldn't disturb anyone… he'd sent a picture of Quinn unstacking chairs and snarling at him.

9:17am: _'Green room is set up for clinic. Collection room is stripped of everything. Interior room- no cell signal. Each have a bathroom.'_

9:41am: '_Catering taken care of. I know you don't give a shit abt the menu. It's done though. Meow Mix wasn't an option. I asked. Poor Quinn.'_

10:19am: '_Called Animal Services and reported a tiger loose in the hotel. Said I was John Quinn. DAS is not amused. He was ticketed for the false alarm. His court date is next month._' Another snapshot, that one of Quinn being ticketed by 3 very straight faced men in uniforms.

10:53am: '_I'm not liking the set-up. No easy exit. All interior rooms. Fastest escape: you either take Sookie through 4 walls or the ceiling. Don't like it.'_

11:12am: '_Quinn is turning chairs around again. Fuck privacy. They'll all know why they're here. Doing the clinic in the open solves exit probs. 3 escape rts if shit hits the fan. Thru kitchen to service exit. Thru bar to terrace. Thru lobby to street. Keeping green room set up 4 if you veto and breaks.'_

11:50am: '_Side note. You need to think of a way for Sookie to be tipped. I'm having the flower arrangements set in the meeting room. 20+ so far. The gifts are being collected in the hotel's safe.'_

12:02pm: '_Carol returned my call. She's ok with holding onto the monkey for you. Bonus: She's going to start calling it Pam. Its name was Genevieve. Thought Pam would like that too much._' When I chuckled at Alcide's brilliant idea, Hunter stirred.

1:19pm: '_Someone went and cleaned up all the chairs Quinn worked so hard to set up. Poor guy doesn't get to go to lunch w/Barry. :'( I'll think of a way to make it up to him.'_

The last text…

4:50pm: '_Last order of business: Arranged for Barry to be the only human employee allowed in the clinic. Sookie trusts him. He can play gofer as a cover to training unless you say otherwise._' If Sookie trusted him enough to have Barry in attendance for a clinic, I could only assume that their lunch had gone well enough.

There were several other emails; one from Mr. Cataliades to let me know to expect him tonight, but the rest were from vampires in my Area asking about Sookie's next clinic… I was explaining in bulk that they'd be notified when we returned, when Hunter finally woke.

"Watcha doin'?" He sat up, keeping his atlas on his folded legs and rubbing his eyes.

"I'm emailing the vampire population of northern Louisiana to let them know when they can have their pets read again. How was your day?"

"It was fuck-hot."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not sure Sookie would approve if she heard you say 'fuck'. It seems there are words that I'm forbidden from saying."

"That's what Alcide called it. Why is he allowed?"

"You'll have to ask Sookie. She's the one with the rules."

He shrugged. "OK. Daddy says 'hotter than the hinges in hell' when it's like that. Is that OK?"

"I suppose."

"OK. It was hotter than the hinges in hell. We went to a pretty café, but it was just too yucky to eat outside so we ate inside."

"Did Barry behave himself?"

"Eh. He sucks."

"His telepathy?"

"Yeah. He needs a lot a'practice. Sookie thought that I'm better."

"He's been resisting his ability. One can't improve without working for it."

"If you say so. Lunch was cool though. They had good cookies. We went to a mall after."

"More shopping?"

"A little. We went so Barry could practice. He got a headache real fast. Not like me. He's upset that I do better."

"He's duly jealous. That should be short lived."

He giggled, "He wishes he was raised by a vampire like me. He thought I'm lucky." There were so many bizarre things about that statement that I didn't know where to start. He wasn't being raised _**by**_ a vampire, only in the care of one. The situation of having a deranged mother who wanted to rid the world of telepaths including her own son wasn't what I would call lucky, anything but. And the way Hunter had said it, as though it was the last thing on his mind to contradict Barry… He truly felt lucky in spite of the seriousness of his situation.

"We could buy a leash for him and give him to Pam as a pet."

He cackled and I felt Sookie wake immediately. "You can't do that! What if he doesn't get along with Jason and the monkey?"

"You heard about that?"

"I was with Alcide when some lady called." He smiled and 'zipped' his lips.

"Good man. We don't want to spoil the surprise. It's a birthday gift."

He nodded. "That's cool. I'm excited. I don't get surprised. Sookie promised to surprise me though, you know, for Christmas." It was only a second, maybe two before Sookie entered the room, but it was long enough for it to occur to me how sad it was that the boy hadn't ever looked at a gift and not already known what was inside. Then again, I also had time to realize that the first gift Sookie needed to open was the ring on her finger.

She smiled as she positioned herself on the middle of the bed, kissing his forehead and then my cheek. "Who knew Santa is a vampire, right? How did you end up in here?"

He giggled again. "When you fell asleep you started dreaming so I finished my nap in here. It worked. No dreams."

She grinned, rolling her eyes. "Well, excuse me. I didn't mean to fall asleep."

He shrugged. "I know. When are you going to give him his present?"

"Later. In private."

"Why? It's not like…"

She interrupted, "Hey! Hush. You don't need to know why, nosey." He stuck his tongue out as she snickered and motioned towards his atlas. "Did you take care of that yet?"

"Nope. We were just talking about our day… Why can't I say 'fuck-hot'?"

Her mouth fell open and she took a sharp breath. "Where did you hear that!?"

"Alcide. It was hotter than the hinges in hell today, but he said 'fuck-hot'. Eric said you wouldn't be…" I was already laughing at the look on her face.

"Eric's right! You aren't allowed to say…"

"But why?"

"Because it's… it's… it's not a nice word."

"Alcide wasn't being mean when he said it."

"It's a… a grown up word."

"Then why are there words Eric can't say? He's like… _the grownuppest_."

She shot a dirty look in my direction when I chuckled at the way she was floundering. "Because there are mean, hateful, nasty words that _**no one**_ should ever, _ever_, _**ever**_ say. And then there are words that kids shouldn't say."

"OK. Like what?"

Sookie bit her lip and hid her face in her hands, growling instead of answering his innocent request for clarification.

"Honestly Sookie, if you don't tell him what you don't want him to repeat then how is he supposed to know?"

"What do you suggest then?"

"Shit…"

Her hands left her face so that she could scowl and shriek, "Eric!"

I grabbed her, pulling her down to the bed to force her face into a pillow before she could make a simple conversation a protracted affair. "Shit, piss, cunt, fuck, cocksucker, motherfucker and tits…"

Somehow she managed to twist her arm around to get her hand over my mouth, but I was already done. While Hunter laughed hard enough to hold his sides, Sookie screamed into the pillow, "I can't believe you just said that!"

I chuckled, not bothering to remove her hand. "How else is he going to know? He's bound to have heard them all already. If you're going to restrict his speech, then he needs a list."

Hunter tried to be more serious, but he was still giggling, "What's a cunt?"

Sookie grumbled into the pillow. "Hunter, I need to talk to Eric alone for a minute."

I swatted her ass and let go of her, waiting for the angry look that I knew she'd have for me when she sat up. "He's not going anywhere. We're in the middle of a discussion… Cunt is a vulgar word used to describe female anatomy and can be used as an insult like 'bitch'."

"Oh. OK. I know all the other ones."

"That isn't all of them. You should be selective about how you refer to body parts and if you aren't sure, ask me since Sookie is _obviously_ uncomfortable with the topic…" He seemed to be ingraining the words into his memory. "…And if Pam says it, and you don't know what it is, it's probably going to be on the list. She's been collecting vulgarities from all over the world and now, the internet."

He nodded. "OK. Why wasn't 'bitch' on the list?"

"I didn't make the list. Someone else did. It's a list of words you won't hear on TV. Bitch is said on television, but I'm sure it's on the list of words you aren't allowed to say." The aggravated grunt from Sookie solidified that theory.

"OK. Who made the list?"

"A man named George Carlin. He's a comedian."

"The list isn't funny though."

"It is when he says it. I think I've upset Sookie too much to explain more… What needs to be done with your atlas?"

He grabbed the book and scooted closer, ignoring Sookie's frustration. The atlas was as wide as his chest, but he managed to shove it towards me. "Sweden, right?"

I took the book and watched him pull a pen from his pocket so that he could hold it out just as eagerly. "Of course."

"You're going to be the first one. Then Pam."

"What an honor… Have you decided on a format?"

He very excitedly nodded. "There's blank pages in the back. The maps could get crowded with names so put a number where you're from and then log it in the back."

"You've put a lot of thought into this..." He inched closer to watch, maybe supervise, over my shoulder while I leafed through the pages to the page for Sweden between Spain and Switzerland in the chapter for Europe. "What number should I use? Should I use '1' because I'm the first or would you like to see how many vampires are willing to give you their birth year?"

"_Ooooooh! Birth year! Birth year_!"

I nodded, resisting the urge to chuckle so that he wouldn't think I wasn't taking him seriously. He fixated on my hand as I adde in small print to the area of Sweden just north of Uppsala, what was now Älvkarleby. "Uppland."

"Is it still called that?"

"Generally, yes. Formally, it's Uppsala."

"Wow. That's cool. Do you think New Orleans's name will change?"

"It already has. It was nothing more than a fort along a trade route originally. Fort St. Jean…"

"Then it was New Orleans."

"No. Then a larger fort was built over it. That was called San Juan del Bayou. It means the same thing, but when the Spanish moved to the area, they translated the name. The city was built up around it and the ruins are still there."

"Did you see it? When it was just a fort?"

"No. It was an actual city before I saw it. The Berts would remember it though. They've been here long enough. Their maker is the only one to ever rule the vampires of Louisiana."

"He must be really…"

"She; Sophie-Ann is their maker."

"Like my mother?"

"Yes."

"A maker is like a parent, right?"

"Of sorts. I suppose you could say that."

"So… That would make them, the Berts… _like my uncles?_" It was nearly impossible to not laugh when 'Uncle Andre' came to mind.

I nodded. "Actually_, I think that __**would **__translate_." Sookie refused to show how amused she was.

He gave a serious nod before he shot off of the bed, making it half way to the door before he remembered the atlas and dashed back for it. "I gotta go get my bath…"

Sookie frowned as she watched him, but didn't correct him… since she was still pretending to be angry, she also didn't volunteer the information.

"What excited him so suddenly?"

She shook her head as though she was disappointed. "He's excited to have vampires in the 'family'."

"His mother doesn't count?"

"No, not at all. He thinks of her as his mother or by name, but he wrote her off. He's actually grateful that she wants to kill him because he likes the setup he's got."

"Jealous?"

"Yeah, I am! Except for the Godfather themes, I'm jealous as hell."

"You'll get to be surprised for Christmas this year though."

The corner of her mouth betrayed her; a hint of a smile. When she realized that I'd caught her, she swatted my leg. "_I'm mad at you_."

"No. You're not."

She started trying to leave the bed again, but I grabbed her and put her face in the pillow like I had before. She fought, laughed, clawed for the covers to try to get away. "Stop it! I am too!"

All it really took to hold her still was putting my weight on top of her and holding her arms. I whispered into her ear, "You're not mad."

"Am too… you…"

"You want to thank me for helping you."

"Great! Not only is the bond broken, but you're high!"

"Uh oh. Are you sure it's broken? We should test it."

She grunted, still squirming. "Oh yeah? Alright… ummm… you feel like wearing pink tonight, maybe even full drag." She waited to giggle until she felt how amused I was.

"And you… you feel like wearing a collar and leash tonight. Am I right?"

"It's definitely broken… Who do we call? Is there a repairman?"

"I think we can calibrate it ourselves, but you need to admit that you aren't angry first."

"Fine… I'm not angry. I'm glad you… That was… awkward."

"How so?"

"Ummm… could you let me go while we talk?" After the way she'd abused me that morning while I'd been tied up by a phone call…

"No. I think I like this. How was it awkward?"

"Because there's a list of no-nos a mile long and I didn't know where to start… not to mention it's _so not my job_ to explain things like that. That was a parent's job."

"As his guardian, you should try to get used to it. I might not be as helpful with everything. You're lucky I've been a George Carlin fan since the 70s."

"I guess so. It kind of helps that you have more experience than I do."

"Not really. I still can't curtail Pam's verbiage."

"You handled it like a pro though. Maybe you'll rub off on me." Stellar choice of words…

"I could do that now…" She started giggling and fighting again when I pried her legs apart with my knees and rubbed against her ass…

"Oh no you don't! We still have the bond to fix…"

"I'll wear full drag if it means seeing you on a leash."

"I'll tell you what… if it means _**NOT**_ seeing you in drag, I'll wear a damn collar…" She stopped to bury her face in the pillow again and groan 'shit' when she realized that she'd fucked up.

"I think that can be arranged."

"That's it! I'm going to die trying to kick your ass! You led me right into that!"

"I did no such thing. How was I supposed to know that you'd be so troubled by the idea of seeing me in drag? I have to say, I'm a little hurt."

"Liar!"

"Would you like to get back to the topic of the bond before you agree to sitting at my feet?"

She groaned again. "Yeah. How do you propose to fix it, Mr. Pretty In Pink?"

"We should run a diagnostic… When you were angry, I tried to calm you down, yes?"

"Yeah."

"And when you were distraught, I tried to sooth you, yes?"

"Uh… yeah?"

"Since you could feel it both times, we could test you…"

"Oh God. What are you…?"

Before she could finish asking, I pushed… driving as much lust, desire, want, craving to her as I could… Her back arched as she started squirming, whimpering into the bed… "Well?"

She panted, "Well what?"

"Can you identify that?"

"Mmmm hmmm… You're in a cruel mood."

"Cruel? You should concentrate harder…" As I continued to tease her, her shoulders started to bead with sweat…

Her breathing started to shake… "Depraved…"

Her hips rolled under me… "Sadistic…"

She craned her neck to look at me… "Hungry…"

As she let lust fill her, take control, it felt as though she was pushing back… returning the mood… "Merciless…"

Curling her body in rhythm to every rub I gave… "Selfish…"

The friction and heat was too much to bear… "How am I selfish, Sookie?"

When she moved her arm, I let go… She reached back, slowly wedging her hand between us… grabbing my cock… "You don't have any intentions of sharing that until later, do you?" Not when I'd first started, but plans had changed, responsibilities be damned.

My fangs ran out, nicking my lip… I couldn't bring myself to say anything as she tightened her hand… pumping so slow that it hurt… twisting around, lifting to lick the trickle of blood from my chin and giggling when she didn't kiss me…

"You goon. I can't believe you haven't learned your lesson."

"That you are a tease?"

She hummed her laugh. "Oh no. Not me this time. You're the one trying to make me horny… but since I'm being falsely accused again, I can always make things worse."

"How could you possibly make it worse?"

She raised her eyebrow at me, but didn't say anything as she wriggled out from under me.

I crashed to the bed, pissed at every church-going human in existence for creating the need for Sookie's services, closing my eyes and soothing myself with thoughts of pulling Newlin's arm from his body and beating him to death with it…

But my lesson wasn't over…

I barely recognized her wicked giggle before I felt her hair and breath whisper over the skin of my side…

Her tongue and teeth raked a vicious trail…

My hands grabbed her hair, pushing it away from her face so that I could at least enjoy the evil sparkle in her eyes…

She pulled my pants out of her way, wrapping her lips around my cock and shoving down…

Fast, hard, as deep as she could go, biting just right at my hilt… and just as quickly… she pulled away, releasing the waistband of my pants and letting the elastic snap against me.

She giggled when I growled at her. "Any more questions?" No. anything else I said would've provoked her.

"You're going to pay for that."

She wandered into the bathroom feeling too proud of herself. "You started it."

The infuriating part of the whole scenario… I'd just taught her how easily she could torture me, using our bond as her weapon.

'…_You feel like wearing pink tonight...'_

I should've known.

Seeing the light pink dress shirt encased in plastic on the bathroom counter would've made me laugh if it weren't for how excruciatingly hard I still was. I probably would dress in drag if it came with Sookie's enticing scent. I couldn't bring myself to care that she had picked what I'd be wearing… including my dark gray suit that was hanging in the bathroom.

As it stood, I was actually afraid of the dress Sookie had shown me the night before.

Easy access was not going to make getting through the evening painless.

She was applying her makeup when I emerged from the bathroom no more improved from when I entered.

That fucking dress was scandalously short… her heels were the same shade as my shirt… knowing that she'd dressed us to match, advertising that she was mine… She might as well have been wearing a lead and it was going to fuck with me all night.

I slithered up behind her, sliding my hand into the split at the front of the dress, getting purred at as my hand groped, pulling her closer.

"You're just going to spin us up."

"I think this could be the most amazing dress I've ever seen."

She giggled. "Then you'll have to be gentle so that it has some shelf life."

"I'll just rip your panties off instead."

She smirked at my reflection. "I might as well not wear any around you."

I wasn't going to give her the chance to try recanting…

She groaned as soon as she realized what I was doing, but by then her panties were crossing her knees.

She glared while I put them in a presidential fold and then she snatched them out of my hand when I tried to put them in my handkerchief pocket. "_Oh no you don't!_"

"I'm the only one who'll know."

She scowled and shoved it back into my hand. "I really am going to kick your ass one day."

"Promise to make it 'one night' and we've got a date."

She growled. "Why can't I stay mad at you?"

"Because all I have to do is look at you and you're wet?"

As much as she tried to resist, she smiled. "Oh yeah. That's it…" She shook her head and gave my shoulder a push. "…go check on your little buddy while I finish my face. Mr. C is in the elevator."

"How do you know it's him? There could be another daemon here."

"When I felt his static, I read the clerk's mind. It's him."

"From 9 floors away?"

"I'm surprising myself… now scoot. I gotta get ready."

Mr. Cataliades broke a sweat crossing Paulette's ward, even with his invitation.

Knowing that everyone would be joining us in our room soon enough, I propped the door open for the rest of our party only to turn around to see the lawyer nodding respectfully, but deeper than his usual greeting.

"Sheriff Northman, a pleasure as always."

"Likewise. I'm sorry you needed to travel to tend to a simple registration. If it weren't for pending business, we'd have come to New Orleans."

"No. I understand the urgency… I have to admit, I'm quite curious to see Miss Stackhouse work, if you'd permit it."

"I'm sure that's fine…"

Hunter ran into the room, stopping dead in his tracks to stare at our company. "_**WHAT ARE YOU!?**_"

The daemon gave a gentile nod. "Master Hunter, I presume?"

He nodded. "What are you? Your brain is cool. Fuzzy even."

"I'm daemon."

Hunter tilted his head to the side as he focused. "You… you're in a good mood, but… I can't hear you. _That's cool_."

Mr. Cataliades smiled, clearly amused. "I'm glad you approve." He turned to me. "Andre questions the wisdom of allowing the boy's ability to be known."

"All due respect, I couldn't care less for Andre's opinion on the matter. The situation is being enflamed enough by his inability to bridle Hadley's behavior. Keeping Hunter a secret could make keeping him safe difficult if I can't explain to allies why he's to be guarded."

He nodded (practically bowed) again. "My apologies. I didn't mean to offend you." I was getting more confused by the second.

I shrugged. "You haven't. Andre second guessing me as gossip does. I wouldn't ask him how to protect a telepath any more than I'd ask for his advice on how to discipline a young vampire."

"The unique situation of Hunter's age put me in a bit of a spot. Instead of the usual term of ownership being either 1 year or perpetual, I drew registrations to continue until his 18th, 21st and 25th birthdays as well. Which would you prefer?" I didn't have any clue as to how to answer. Sookie's was a persistent declaration, but I wasn't sure when she'd consider Hunter to be grown.

"Sookie, thoughts?" I felt an automatic warmth through our bond as she made her way into the commons to join us.

She smiled at me as Hunter climbed onto my lap. "I know I'd feel better if it were perpetual."

"As opposed to something more short term?"

"Well… you can give him as much leash as you see fit, even dissolve the contract mutually down the road, but I can't see how having you in his corner is a bad thing."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded and took a Red Bull from the kitchenette. "Positively. Besides, if there isn't a predetermined expiration date on his registration, I think it could discourage a few greedy cats from thinking they can just bide their time for X amount of years, right?"

"Right."

She shrugged and sat at in the chair across from us. "I defer to you. I want him to be under your wing as long as you see fit."

Gobsmacked. I stared long enough for her to start questioning her answer.

"Should we talk without Hunter in the room?"

I shook my head, more to gather myself than as an answer. "No. Perpetual, it is."

Mr. Cataliades nodded and handed the registration papers to me. "The matter of Remy Savoy… I've prepared a 1 year order of protection for him as well as Jason Stackhouse, but as you know, they need to consent to the protection."

"Remy's safety isn't as much of a concern as Hunter's. We'll have to make arrangements for Remy to meet with you at a later time, but Jason's protection can be seen to now…"

Hunter pushed himself from my lap and ran for the door, calling back that he was 'on it'. He thundered down the corridor and pounded on the door to Pam and Jason's room, putting a halt to what they'd been up to since she rose. Pam was so annoyed that I could hear her growl that they'd only be a few minutes. _I made sure that she knew how unsympathetic I was._

While we waited, we greeted the Berts and Alcide and I made short work of signing the papers for Jason and Hunter… the lawyer seemed to become more anxious as his duties were crossed off his list…

I'd have been more concerned if Sookie hadn't noticed too, but she'd have alerted me if she felt as though he was up to something worth worrying about. He was visibly anxious. No more. No less.

Alcide and the Berts stood silently near the door… until the Berts both, _**BOTH**_ started laughing.

I turned to see Alcide beaming. "What's funny?"

Alcide shrugged and tossed his phone to me. I almost didn't want to look…

I started laughing immediately. There was a picture of a hotel bathtub… full of cat litter. "He's going to fight back."

"Next."

"Next what?"

"Next picture."

I pressed the cursor to see a can of sardines resting on a pillow like a mint would be. I started laughing again…

"Next."

A pyramid of yarn balls on the dresser…

Toy mice in the drawers…

Cat nip between the sheets…

A saucer of milk on the table…

The last picture, the proverbial cherry… the plaque on the wall for room #103… no door, just a barricade of canned cat food.

I was still laughing when Alcide cleared his throat. "Quinn's going to be late for work."

"A personal crisis?"

He nodded. "Someone must've broken into his room while he was lining up chairs." Between Sookie and Alcide, I'd never have to go to the trouble of practical jokes of my own again. I could just sit back and enjoy their imaginations.

Sookie asked to see and giggled into her hand the whole time she looked through the pictures. She finally gasped, "Alcide… _feeder_ _mice_."

"On it. Got three of them. Set them loose in his room. Once we settle in for the night, I have the concierge calling Quinn and reciting 3 Blind Mice. He thinks it's secret code for something." Impressive.

"You're using it all up in one trip."

"Nah. I got more. If he ends up in Shreveport, I've got a line on some feral cats down in Keachie… And I'm stealing his phone and erasing all of his ringtones. I'm thinking Here Kitty Kitty by the 69 Boys. Know it?" I did. I started chuckling.

Sookie giggled, "Cats In the Cradle…"

In spite of his tension, Cataliades added, "Eye of the Tiger?"

Jason and Pam finally joined us. Jason's face looked normally confused. "Cat songs?"

Alcide nodded. "For our friend Quinn."

Jason gave an impressed nod. "The Presidents did one… Kitty, I think… _Fuck you, kitty, you're gonna spend the night… __**outside!"**_

Alcide's head dropped back. "We have a bingo, folks!"

In the amount of time it took Pam to find the song online, I was done explaining what my protection was and the ink of Jason's signature was already dry.

Mr. Cataliades still looked anxious as he slid my copies to me.

It was beginning to approach the realm of maddening since he'd never behaved like that before…

And then he handed another contract to me.

A much thicker contract.

"What is this?"

He cringed. The fucking daemon actually cringed. "Your contract."

"My contract for what?"

"Your rewritten contract as Sheriff of Area 5 and… Lieutenant of Louisiana." Funny.

I handed it back to him, laughing. "No thanks." I couldn't believe why the other me would've accepted, I certainly wasn't going to make the mistake of adding more responsibility to my already complicated existence.

"Um…" That was a lovely sign; a fucking Daemon, legal representation to the Vampire Queen was stammering. "The thing is, Sheriff, the Queen… in light of her pending nuptials, her current Lieutenant is ascending… because of your travels with Sookie, she believes that you'll find the position will… _grease the wheels?_ She's sure that as Lieutenant, your authority would be more highly regarded…"

Alcide mumbled, "Bullshit." Judging by the look on his face, he hadn't meant to. "Sorry… I just… She's got barbarians at the fucking gate, alright? She knows damn good and well that no one with any sense is going to go after her ass if her Lieu has a pocket full of telepaths. That other shit is just a perk on your end, but she's no idiot. She's positioning herself behind a wall of bad-ass. No one can get to her unless they take y'all out first and if they take her out, they've got you to contend with. And since y'all are ping ponging all over, y'all can't be tracked for long enough to make a move. She's setting it up so that her state is basically an oligarchy." Rather than contradict him, the Berts nodded.

"Like that matters. The timing of this is rank at best. If something does go wrong, if something does happen to her in the next few months because of the torrent of political and 'religious' power plays going on, just after I'm named her second, every Louisiana vampire will suspect me."

Wybert didn't wait a heartbeat. "Not when Sophie-Ann children support you." What the fuck!?

"We'll talk about your sudden strides in English later... You knew she was going to do this?"

Both Berts gave a nod. "We trust you. Trust Sookie. We know better."

"I know this is your maker we're talking about, but…"

"Sign."

"Wybert. Has it occurred to her that her possible alignment would make her look too powerful?" Then it would be a contest to see who could take us all out of the way just for the sake of bragging rights.

"Yes."

"She still wants to name me as her second? Why not Salome? She's been with the Queen longer."

"You ist ideal…"

Cataliades interrupted, "She did offer an alternative."

He held out another contract, this time with a shaking hand. "She…" Before he could finish explaining what the alternative was, I spotted the title… Judging by the boiling chill and sudden feeling that I'd been hit in the gut with a battering ram, Sookie saw it too.

Big. Bold. Typeface.

'Prenuptial'

That. Was. Not. Going. To. Fucking. Happen.


	24. Chapter 24

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 24**

**Shit Sandwich**

Before I could try to calm either of us, Sookie shut down. Completely. It was as though I felt a steel door crash down between us.

All I could do was hope she'd understand that there couldn't be anything in that prenup that would've made it the least bit tempting.

I hadn't wanted to be Sheriff, but it was the only way I'd found to stay in the loop. Existing privately had caused more than a few surprises, not to mention insufferable boredom.

I hadn't wanted to let Sookie read minds for hire, but it seemed like the only way to keep her safe. Keeping her to myself would have meant having others trying to steal her from me. The body count could have been problematic.

I sure as fuck didn't want to be King or more likely, King Consort, but I'd have been shocked if my ownership of Sookie would withstand negotiations.

As Sheriff, I could walk away when my contract expired. It wasn't a post that could be considered indefinite. Lieutenant and King weren't something that I could just abandon. I'd be anchored to Louisiana _forever_.

"You need to get that out of my sight before you need to have it surgically removed from your ass."

"Sheriff…"

"That's right, **SHERIFF**. Not Lieutenant. Sophie-Ann seems to have forgotten that I'm no one's bitch. It seems to have escaped her that since I'm in Texas, I can swear fealty to King Milne with a phone call." I'd only lose a few houses, a few cars… nothing that couldn't be replaced. I had everything with me that mattered. Sookie and Pam.

Cataliades nodded and stared at the document that shook in his hand. "As Lieutenant, she's offering you a raise and the option to appoint a Deputy Sheriff. The title, she feels, is the important factor."

"I'm sure she does. Important enough to threaten to marry me."

"Andre Cuif would remain the Lieutenant to the throne. You'd have full honors and duties as Regent and…"

"We'd rule Louisiana from opposite ends of the state like Rooks on a Chess board, yes?"

"She used the term 'book ends'."

"_**Of course she did**_. Of course, _she assumed_ that I'd be elated to be a prospect. _She assumed_ I'd accept either position eagerly because I'd be too brainless to see how fucking retarded this bullshit maneuver really is. **She's gone mad**!"

"I'm sure she's weighed the pros and cons…"

"I'm sure she has too. I'm positive that she's weighed them, and then completely underestimated her opponent's intelligence and guile… which, I want to point out is why she needed Sookie's services to begin with…"

"She prefers that you accept her proposal. She said that you'd understand why." The plan to bait Nevada and Arkansas to Louisiana with a wedding ceremony was the only thing that came to mind, but by lining up the marriage between her and Threadgill, she'd have done that… It was a conversation that could've been handled over the phone and had she done that, had the decency to call and invite me to take part in the farce, I probably could've been convinced. No. Something else was up her jeweled sleeve.

"Get out. Leave the contracts and get out… Alcide, please show Mr. Cataliades to one of our vacant rooms."

My attention had been on Mr. Cataliades' meaty little handful of trite political mockery. Egotism was dangerous to advertise and promoting me was the political equivalent of stacking her deck.

I hadn't even spared a look in Pam's direction, but watching the chubby lawyer leave had put her in my line of sight. Her mouth was hanging open. "Eric?"

"Give me something brilliant or stay quiet."

"Sorry." She bit her lip and dropped her chin. She knew there wasn't a single brilliant solution to be had.

It didn't keep Jason from trying to 'help' though. "Why don't you just take the Lieutenant gig?"

"Because it's the equivalent of painting a target on my chest and walking back into the church. Have you ever played Monopoly?"

"Yeah… Gran used to kick our asses."

"It's every man for himself until someone gets that one monopoly and starts putting up hotels, yes? Then what happens?"

"Then the other players start schemin' and tradin' so they can get their own to keep up… _ohhhhh_. Shit."

"Precisely." The entire situation boiled down to 'shit'.

"She seems pretty smart though. Why is… How does that…?"

"I'm overqualified as a sheriff. If she weren't in the 'pickle' she's in, then it would make sense to promote me. As it stands, placing me in the Lieutenant position is like having hotels on Boardwalk and Park Place. It makes her look so powerful that it would become a sport to take down her entire power structure. Nevada and Arkansas would redouble their efforts and her allies would begin questioning their dealings with her."

He snorted, "Then you should just marry Sookie and move to Texas."

"Acts of treason aside, marrying your sister isn't an option. Not only would it not help, it's not legal."

"Lieutenant?" Wybert and his brother, rather their secrecy, were annoying enough… Being called Lieutenant made my skin crawl.

"You're pressing your luck."

"Sign."

"What? You aren't pushing for the marriage?"

"No."

"That's what she wants."

"Less stupid."

"That's just wonderful. Even you two know how foolish this is!"

"Not our place."

"It's not really your place to suggest how I handle it either."

"If you refuse…" Oh, fuck me!

"If I refuse, then you'll be ordered to end me and take Sookie." If that wasn't why they were sent in the first place. I could easily better one of them, but there was a reason Sophie-Ann had kept them by her side instead of releasing them. Both of them as opponents wouldn't make up for luck being on my side. Only one of us would walk away, and the victor would take a long while to heal.

Wybert nodded. "Ist probable…"

Siegbert finished, "Do not want."

I took Hunter out of my lap and placed him on the sofa so that I could grab the fucking documents and look them over.

Every word of the contracts seemed to be honorable, maybe even too generous. Both included clauses for my invariable ownership of Sookie and absolute reign over her use.

They both included an outline giving me sovereignty over all areas north of Area 3… but it was worded vaguely.

"She's giving Arkansas to me?" While she sits back and has nearly nothing to do because Cleo and Salome are as self sufficient as I am. Meanwhile, I'm stuck with Gervaise and all of his ineptitude. The Vampires of Monroe had been coming to me since he'd taken over.

Wybert nodded. "Spoils."

"Except the surviving Arkansas Vampires will come after me. Both of my options leave me looking for Sheriffs. I think I have enough to do."

"Queen has list."

"Of course she does. Why wouldn't she have a list of suitable Vampires to serve as sheriffs over a territory she hasn't acquired yet? Does she know something? Information from one of the 'crossings'?"

Siegbert nodded. "Some. Threadgill ist threat. Always."

"Not that you would keep it from her, but I want you both to tell her how unhappy I am…" I snapped the first pen I tried to use and had to wait for a second one. Hunter smiled as he held out the one intended for his Atlas hobby… that it belonged to Hunter was probably the only reason that pen hadn't met the same fate as the first. I tossed the signed contract to the Berts and ripped the prenup into shreds. "If she tries to play any games with Sookie's title, I. Will. Be. A. Threat. To. Her. Make sure you tell her that in every fucking language you know. Take that to Cataliades and let him know that Pam is to serve as my Deputy."

"Will cope."

"Fuck you. Of course we'll be able to muddle through, but it would be less problematic for her to not have pulled this shit at all… and you know it."

"Trust is rare. Ist great honor. You should forgive."

"Eventually. She should have just called me though. She may very well trust me, but this doesn't exactly bode well."

"Thank you."

"Thank me? What the fuck are you thanking me for?"

"Not want to end you und Pam. Not want to take Sookie. We like you."

I rolled my eyes. "_I'm happy that you're happy_. Tell Mr. Cataliades that we'll be going downstairs in half an hour."

They nodded and both of those Saxon assholes called me Lieutenant as they left the room.

Pam wanted to say something about not wanting to be Deputy Sheriff of Area 5, but she knew better. She was already serving in that capacity unofficially and she couldn't possibly have more complaints than I did.

Jason had the astounding idea to take Hunter to his room and towed Pam with him… leaving me alone with Sookie.

She stared at me blankly until I lifted her to take her place and set her in my lap. "I need you to keep me from taking my chances with the Berts."

"That's not funny."

"Neither is how quickly you locked me out."

"I wasn't… I… You didn't need my feelings to interfere and Hunter didn't need to hear what I was thinking."

"What were you thinking?"

"Why didn't you just accept the proposal? Same end result. Cooler title." That didn't answer my question.

"If anyone is going to talk me into marriage, it would be you." Her chin trembled. I hadn't meant to sound like I'd have been willing to marry anyone. Ever. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. All I could do was keep talking. "I'm not going to marry for a title like some gold digger. I am who I am because I've earned it."

She nodded and cleared her throat. It was already too late. "But if something happens to her…" I couldn't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing that she was trying to ignore the implications of what I'd said.

"Then I'm stuck with a state I don't want."

"This is crazy… Is it because of me?"

"I don't think it is entirely. You are certainly part of the scenario though. She's scared enough to not be thinking rationally. I'm just going to hope that I'm wrong."

"So you're her new firewall." She slumped against my chest. "It would be smarter… smarter to hurt me to get to you."

"It would be… try to not think about it though. I need to read the journal again, look through the possibilities."

"How is that going to help? Their Sophie-Ann only ran into our Sophie-Ann twice that we know of."

"And there's no way of knowing what this…" I was interrupted by my phone.

I wouldn't have needed to look at the caller ID… The Berts and Mr. Cataliades had both had time to give _**her**_ the 'good news'.

I was tempted to ignore it. She had to have been told how pissed I was. She was no stranger to tantrums thanks to Hadley… I might've been able to get away with it.

Sookie tried to leave my lap when I shifted to pull out my cell, but I held her still. She really was the only thing keeping me from killing someone… Much like Hunter had been before I put him on the sofa.

"Majesty."

"_Lieutenant_. Why did you not accept my proposal of marriage? I hear I'm quite the catch."

"I don't want to be your King. As Lieutenant, I wish you a very long fucking life."

"You should be more grateful."

In the _immortal_ words of Pam, "Whatever."

"You're being insolent."

"If you don't like it, fire me."

The bitch had the gall to laugh. "That's what I love about you, Northman. You're the most honest Vampire I've ever met."

"Lucky me."

"You can't be so angry. Your new title allows you to keep your pet safe, it brings with it the ability to call to arms every Vampire in Louisiana."

"I had that before since she has royal protection. Do you think I'm dumb enough for that to pacify me? Now that your aristocracy is the oldest in the states and owns the only known telepaths, you may very well have signed all of our final death warrants."

"Or I solidified our standing. Time will tell, of course."

"You are too naïve at your age. Were you retarded as a human?" Sookie's eyes widened and she put both hands over her mouth to muffle her shocked gasp. Sophie-Ann had picked the wrong time to contact me if she wanted manners.

"Excuse me?"

"We both know that Andre is the only way you've kept your head all this time. What did he have to say about your little ploy?"

"Do you want me to tell you that you agree with him?"

"Tactically, I usually agree with him. I know for fact that he didn't approve of the marriage to Arkansas…"

"Because he's covetous of me…"

"And because it was a greed driven move on your part since you'd be able to boast that you were the Queen of two states. A vainglorious move when you consider that the effort put us all at risk. I'm sure that he has suggested ending Hadley as well…"

"Because he doesn't approve of my coddling her."

"He's right. She needs a month of lashings, not house arrest with access to outsiders. Look at the trouble she's caused this week alone. She can't be worth the continued 'crossings'."

"How would you react if someone suggested that you end your own child?"

"If Pam brought the shame to me that Hadley brings to you, no one would have the fucking chance. Then again, it seems like I'm a bit more selective when it comes to being a maker. The Berts were the most recent of your sane selections on that front."

"Your new position doesn't give you license to judge my every move."

"Actually, it does. In the interest of your Queendom and my own neck, I suggest you end that little twat before she has a tantrum that pushes her to betray us all." Sookie frowned, but offered a sad nod. Even Sookie understood the reasoning.

She crooned tauntingly, "What would your pet say if she heard you suggest such an approach?"

"Would you like to ask her yourself? She's right here. I'm more interested in Andre's thoughts on my suggestion."

"You'd discuss state business in the presence of a human?"

"One that I own, am bonded to, intend to turn and is already contracted to you with a nondisclosure stipulation? Yes. One that has dedicated most of her time to helping you keep your head? Yes. One that seems to think of your safety and standing more often than you do? Yes. You're hardly in a position to worry about how I handle my pets. Your child is fanatical enough to have plotted to kill the defenseless child that she bore herself, yet you seem to be so daft as to think she wouldn't direct her inclination for disloyalty at you. Andre, you know I'm right."

From a distance, Andre offered, "It isn't our place." Not that it was a shock, but I suddenly realized that her children most likely heard that a lot more often than Pam.

"While allowing Hadley to continue could risk us all, it most certainly is. You don't even have the luxury of watching her until she dies since she doesn't die for the day. What _couldn't_ she do while you're dead?"

"Can you trust…?"

"I'm going to cut you off **right there**. Not only can I trust Sookie to behave during the day, but I can trust Sookie to see to **my** safety when I'm dead. You can't say the same; you were just hoping that I suffered the problem of an uncontrollable pet. Your Lieutenant and your future King agree that something needs to be done with Hadley. She's a liability."

"I'm not in the habit of taking advice…"

"Perhaps you should get in the habit of taking advice… at least from those whom you claim to trust."

"What are Sookie's feelings about having her cousin ended?"

I nodded towards Sookie as her cue to answer. She was already biting her lip. "Um… I don't want any parts of it. She's my blood, no matter how horrible she's been, but… She… I think you should consider how much you really trust her. She could bring you down too easily. She's bitter that…"

"I think I'd know if she were bitter, thank you…"

"All due respect Majesty, Hadley made a remark that worries me. Eric made the joke that he couldn't read her mind and she said 'at least someone can't'… Ma'am, I kind of think that if she's willing to kill Hunter, her own son, she could have an axe to grind over your partial telepathy. She could've made friends in Arkansas. If she can call to harass me, then she could be waiting for you to die and then call someone in Little Rock to leak information about your plans for securing…"

Andre interrupted Sookie by barking at his maker, "Even the human sees that! I told you! Just because Sookie is a model pet doesn't mean you can have false hope for…" The sudden silence after his outburst made Sookie cringe.

Sophie-Ann's stillness was strained at best. She was either using her connection to Andre to tell him to shut the fuck up or she was quietly kicking her own ass for being so dense. I wasn't 'holding my breath' for the latter. "As my Lieutenant…"

"All due respect, your Majesty, you should've waited for me to calm down before calling. As your Lieutenant, I will loyally carry out my duties, but make no mistake… your new Lieutenant has every intention of telling you how idiotic you can be because I have no desire to inherit your territory."

"Oh really?"

"Really. Your admirers and children have let you get almost as out of control as Hadley. No one tells you 'no' anymore. You're too old to be so petulant. You are over a thousand years old and you've turned a blind eye to how much work it is to keep you safe. Andre, rankling and humorless as he is, needs a vacation from protecting you **from yourself**. You _**ARE NOT**_ my maker and I'm taking this opportunity to point out that I can and will ignore any order that could result in putting me, my child and my property at risk. I've kept myself alive without the aid of Andre's paranoid nature. You, Majesty, would be wise to start taking his advice to heart. Your own children find folly in appointing me as your Lieutenant. Now that I'm stuck with the position, you'll tire quickly of my 'honesty' because you'll no longer benefit from my subordinate silence."

"Northman, I'm not amused. I'm negating the offer of a promotion. We'll be married next week." Sookie's eyes misted over and her throat seized.

"You're overplaying your hand, Sophie-Ann. As King, I'll certainly make changes to your rule. You're far better off having me as a disagreeable second in command… listen to me. For your own safety, for your children's safety, do something about Hadley. Jail her if you don't have the nerve to end her… And stop playing political games. We are all sitting in a fragile position at the moment. We can't afford to tap dance on thin ice."

"Truly."

"Honestly. What became of Waldo when we told you what he had in store for Hadley?"

"I sent him to France on assignment. He thinks he's looking for the ruins of my human home." At least he wasn't close enough to do any immediate damage.

"Knowing that one of your children was a danger to the other made you separate them. Sophie-Ann, one of your children is a danger to everything you've built including your existence. Oblivion isn't going to serve you well in this case. I can trust my only child with anything. The same can be said of my only pet. You need to tighten your circle of trust. Hadley is a wild card. We can't afford that right now."

"I can't kill her. I love her." She actually sounded… _weepy_.

"I'm sure you do. Perhaps Andre can help you think of a way to take her out of the equation for now…"

"You don't have a snarky suggestion for me?"

"I've already told you, I'd have ended her by now."

"You're a cruel bastard. What's done is done. I won't kill her."

"You already knew what I am. It's why you gave me the post of Sheriff in the first place."

"You're only angry because I refuse to let you continue being an under-achiever."

"Right. You keep telling yourself that. I'm hanging up now. I have shit to do."

"You dare hang up on…"

I managed to smile as I pressed the button to end the call.

Sookie giggled, "You probably shouldn't have done that."

"She probably shouldn't have sent Cataliades to me with a marriage proposal."

She snorted. "How long have you known her? Did you really think she could resist your sexiness forever?"

"Jokes, Sookie? _Really_?"

"Ummmm, your fault. You managed to get me to admit that my cousin needs to die… _**again**_ while you were having a pissing match with the Queen… pardon me for tossing a joke out there while I work through all that." And I suggested marrying her. While it seemed like I was going to escape talking about whatever notions the passing mention put into her head, it was only going to be a matter of time before the subject came up again.

"You could've lied, disagreed, offered an alternative."

She thought about that for a moment before shaking her head calmly. "I can't think of anything the Queen would be willing to do. One of Pam's boxes would be good. Gran always called her a 'whoopin' waiting to happen'."

"She's too closely bonded to her children to do that to herself. Corporal punishment isn't an option."

She shrugged. "I figured. You've settled down now that you vented. Let's get this show on the road. Poor Mr. C is worried that you want to kill the messenger."

"Are you hearing his thoughts?"

She slowly started sliding off of my lap with my hand in hers. "No, but he feels like I did when I was running for my life from Rene."

"Are you sure you're up to the horde?"

She closed her eyes and again, it felt as though she was drifting away as her focus stretched out. "They're already flocking. C'mon. I want to get ahead of it."

I actually had to tell Mr. Cataliades that he wasn't the reason I was pissed off for him to relax at all.

As soon as the elevator doors slid shut behind our ever-growing entourage, I turned to the Berts. "You leave at first dark tomorrow."

"Orders. Stay with Sookie."

"I'm changing those orders. I want you two to be guarding the Queen. She needs to live FOREVER."

They both chuckled. "We call. Confirm." I didn't expect any differently. I'd bet a limb that they'd be ordered to remain with us too.

"So how did you two assholes suddenly pick up English?"

"Alcide help."

I looked over my other shoulder to the wolf I'd have completely disregarded if it weren't for Sookie's need for a guard. "How did you manage that?"

He shrugged like teaching those dolts how to translate themselves was a small thing. "I told them to stop talking to each other in Saxon… the Queen usually _communicates_ with them in French but since they've been spending so much time with us… I figured it was worth a try. It was all I could think of. My French is worse than their English… the next step was to make everything look like The Color Purple."

Sookie giggled, but the rest of us had no fucking clue… I actually pictured everything with a purple tinge before I thought to ask. "Purple?"

"Not the color, the movie. The Color Purple. Lucky bastard… I guess you never got dragged to that one… One sister was trying to teach the other one how to read… so they pinned notes to everything." It made enough sense that I gave a nod.

Hunter tugged the cuff of my jacket. "Ummm… could you pick me up? I'm sick of looking at butts."

When I lifted him, his atlas was sandwiched between us. "Did you 'collect' Pam yet?"

He nodded.

"And the Berts?"

He nodded again. "Uncle Wybert said he'd give me a dinosaur when I find a Vampire from Monaco because it's a tiny country."

As the Berts asked, "_Uncle_?", Sookie gulped and asked, "**Dinosaur**?"

All I could do was chuckle because I knew what both of them meant.

Hunter leaned to look over my shoulder at his 'uncle'. "Makers are like parents. You and my mother have the same maker. So you're her vampire brothers… my Uncles."

When they didn't reply right away, I risked a look. Both of them were slack jawed. Sookie brought them out of their stupor by snapping her fingers. "Guys? A Dinosaur?"

Siegbert nodded slowly. "Ja… Iguana. Vegetarian. Clean. Good pet." They'd been keeping them for as long as I'd known them.

Hunter agreed with a wide grin. "They're like little dinosaurs."

Sookie sighed, "Oh thank God… I thought y'all had struck a deal over a Caiman or a Monitor or something else _huge and carnivorous_."

Hunter rolled his eyes at her as the elevator doors opened. "What difference does it make? My atlas says Monaco is smaller than Central Park."

"Well, population-wise, it's probably bigger than Bon Temps. I know of two vampires from there." _Two and counting…_

She took my hand as we stepped into the unusually active lobby and spelled, ' T' into my palm.

I replied, "G O O D".

She smirked and took her time drawing a heart.

As we were noticed, traffic came to a full stop. Ogling and gaping… Vampire of all ages embarrassed themselves by being so impressed by a human.

Everything came to a screeching halt except for the argument between hotel management and Quinn. He was yelling that he didn't care what his neighbors said they'd heard, he didn't have any cats in his room. Of course management didn't believe him thanks to the wall of Friskies cans against his door… _And they called him 'Mr. Clean'_.

Stan Davis was standing at the entrance to the conference room and gave a deep nod as we approached. "I hope you find the arrangements to your liking, Sheriff."

Siegbert corrected, "Lieutenant."

I ignored the startled look on Davis's face. "I'm sure Alcide made sure that everything will run as smoothly as possible."

"One can hope. I've seen or heard from every Vampire in my area… and then some. I've told them that there might be a need to wait until tomorrow given my limited understanding of Miss Stackhouse's ability. I'm not sure how quickly she tires. There are more than 400 humans expected." Fuck.

When I looked to Sookie because of her sudden irritation, her eyes were closed. "Perhaps we should see the ones who have further to go first to allow them time to return…"

She shook her head slightly as she opened her eyes and faked a smile. "I should do just fine… the… I think maybe we should try to cause a reaction…"

"Such as?"

"Well, I can tell you for a fact that whenever Newlin came on the news when I was waiting tables, it really got folks going, but… I think it's safe to say I'm not the only one who wouldn't want to listen to anything he has to say…"

From behind us, Pam offered dryly, "_Amen_… maybe a simple glamour would help. If we have the vampires start glamouring their pets to think someone **is** Newlin…"

Sookie nodded happily. "That would work well enough to help do some weeding, but who…?"

Alcide cut her off with a loud whistle that echoed through the lobby _and my skull_. "**QUINN. NOW**. _Time to earn your vittles_."

I couldn't help but chuckle, "_Purrrrrfect_." The Berts repositioned as Alcide left our group to take the Newlin decoy into the conference room. "Ferrell is continuing to improve, I assume."

Stan nodded. "He is. He wants to thank Miss Stackhouse in person. He's quite aware of the fate she spared him from."

"I'm sure that can be arranged."

"I'd like to make arrangements for a Welcome Home party. How long do you intend to stay in my area?"

"If Sookie is confident of her progress tonight, then we'll see to some personal business tomorrow evening and take our leave Tuesday. I've been neglecting my area and Sookie's services are still being pursued by other areas."

"Do you think then that your personal business would allow for a visit to my nest?" Knowing that the 'business' I'd meant was testing her theory on asylums, Sookie's positivity answered my curiosity as to whether or not she'd done any research.

"We'll let you know, but we should have the time. If nothing else, Sookie will want to see Ferrell before we leave."

"Mr. Sheriff Stan, are you from Monaco?" The Berts and I chuckled at Hunter's new goal as Sookie discussed her strategy with Jason and Alcide.

Stan shook his head. "Poland."

"My hobby is collecting Vampires. Will you sign my atlas?"

"You collect Vampires?"

He nodded excitedly. "I get an iguana if I find one from Monaco, but Pam said she'd build me a treehouse bed when I get one from all 50 states and have a party if I get 150 countries. I don't have a Vampire from Poland yet."

He was amused, to say the least, as he reached for the atlas and followed Hunter's instructions as to how to log his entry. "Would you like to ask the other Vampires of my area while we wait to get started?"

Hunter gave me another very excited look to ask if he'd be allowed. "Will you be able to focus in such a crowded room? There _are_ nearly 100 humans here."

He shrugged. "Probably."

I set him down and stepped back. He seemed to be testing himself for a moment before he nodded. "Alright. Mind your manners. Don't be pushy."

"Pushy?"

"Bossy, like Sookie. If they decline, respect that."

He giggled as he turned around and headed directly for the front row of waiting clients. "I promise."

I took a seat and watched him…

While Sookie decided how to handle the onslaught of pets, Hunter was delighted to interview Vampire after Vampire about their origins. He found a woman who'd been born in India to English missionaries and gasped to hear that one man had been born in the middle of the Atlantic when his mother was emigrating from Austria on a French ship. He didn't know which country to count for the Vampires. It was the Austrian who suggested that he count them for both once he heard Hunter's prize goals.

Israel, Germany, France, Iceland, Mexico… 6 different states…

None of them gave the tiniest of hints that they were put out by his request. In fact, most of them were stunned by being approached by a fearless child and became amused with his eager questions…

He was nearly done with the third row of seats when Barry entered the room pushing a room service cart. Dinner for Jason and Hunter… Red Bulls on ice and a fruit plate for Sookie.

The better part of the room watched Hunter scurry to our seating area and climb into my lap, instead of the empty seat next to me, and pull his plate over.

Sookie leaned back in her seat and picked from her platter while she scanned the growing audience.

"Shouldn't you eat something more substantial?"

Sookie leaned over to explain, her whisper smelling of nectarine, "Everyone is staring at me. _Creepy_… I'll pick for now and then take a sandwich back to our room. I'll be fine; I had a big lunch."

"I forgot to ask you; how did your lunch go?" Hunter might've had a different perspective.

"It went well. I think I might almost have him." She winked in Barry's direction, making the boy blush.

"What seems to be his hesitation?"

"Practice."

"He's worried that he isn't as talented?" Answering for her, Hunter nodded while he fought to eat an onion ring without pulling the onion out of the breading.

"Stan?" Barry visibly tensed.

"Yes Lieutenant? Are we ready to proceed?"

"I believe so, but out of curiosity, since you mentioned a desire for your own telepath…"

"Yes?" He was comically eager, maybe as excited as Hunter was about his atlas.

"Do you have a preference as to how practiced it is? Would you like to be notified of the first one found or would you prefer to hold out for a certain level of talent?"

"I'm not sure I understand. A telepath is a telepath. Isn't saying they're capable in degrees like the saying 'a little bit pregnant'?"

Hunter cackled, "No!" and then slapped his hands over his mouth, mumbling an apology.

I chuckled at his outburst. "I think what Hunter was trying to say is that while pregnant is pregnant, there is a difference between a new embryo and _crowning_… While some telepaths are only just learning, Sookie can differentiate between different breeds, distinguish Vampires' ages within a decade or two, read Weres and search out specific minds once she's become familiar with them. In fact, while we were in Baton Rouge, she found a specific vampire 12 floors away in the Seven Veils and just last night, she found Quinn's mind 8 floors away."

"She's that accurate?"

I nodded, but before I could answer, Sookie cleared her throat. "Isobel is here." He shook his head, clearly surprised. "She's on her way through the lobby, Hugo in tow."

"You know it's her based on Hugo's company?"

"No. I know it's her because Vampires' thoughts have, for a lack of a better word, _a signature_. She's with another Vampire. He's a tall, thin man with dark hair and light blue eyes. He wasn't with us last night. He's about 300 years old…"

"How do you know what the other Vampire looks like?"

"Because Hugo is terrified of him."

"Could you always do that?"

"No sir. I spent most of my life pushing back my telepathy. It wasn't until I started practicing that I could do much more than improve my tips with it."

"How long have you been practicing?"

"Not long… I've only been practicing hardcore for a couple of weeks."

"Anything."

Sookie tilted her head. "Pardon?"

"The original question, about my preference. I'll take my chances with the first one you find. I can be patient and wait for the ability to improve. Given the climate in my area, I can't afford to be picky."

Sookie was quiet for a moment before she smiled brightly. "Then we should get things rolling so that I can introduce you to a friend of mine."

"A friend? You've already found another?"

"Yes sir. He's young and unskilled, about as strong as I was before I started waiting tables, but he's eager to learn. With some patience, I'm sure the two of you could help each other out in a big way."

"What is the finder's fee?"

"Fifty thousand…" The finder's fee I was paid for Sookie was steeper, but not only was she signing with a Queen, she was far more talented.

Sookie quickly added, "And 10 days." I wanted to kiss her. **That** was an _excellent_ addition.

"Explain that."

"Since you'll be putting your shiny new telepath under contract, you'll include that you'll make him available to the state of Louisiana for 10 days should the need arise."

"Why would you need to borrow my telepath?"

That was my cue. "Why would you need to borrow mine?"

He grinned towards the door as Isobel, Hugo and their dark haired Vampire companion entered. "Fair enough."

Jason proved his worth by leaving his seat just as Sookie started and put his head between mine and Stan's… "Maybe y'all should start a list… you know, send it out to the other Sheriffs… maybe a website of humans y'all cain't trust… like that sex offender registry."

Stan's eyebrows shot up, almost disappearing into his hairline. "_Inspired_. Lieutenant, I've been considering how to punish Isobel for bringing a spy into my nest… I think this would be fitting."

"To have her catalogue each untrustworthy pet… Does she have the computer knowledge?"

"She does. _**You**_ certainly have enough to do in your position. As Miss Stackhouse finds them, Isobel could add them to the database…"

Jason added, "And as they go from place to place, they can spread the word. I mean some of 'em could just move to look for more victims. Y'all could email her if they got spotted in other areas. Shame y'all cain't get away with branding the assholes."

I chuckled at him. "The Scarlett Letter?"

He gave a confused look. "Someone wrote a letter?"

Stan and I had to stop laughing before I could thank Jason for his fleeting brilliance and send him back to his seat.

While Stan and I 'passed notes' outlining our joint venture Sookie played 'catch and release' and Pam stopped copying their IDs and started scanning them and tagging them according to transgression.

Accountants guilty of forgery… conniving pets stealing pocket money… embezzling day men…

Oddly, they were few and far between. Of the 200 humans originally in the room, there was only a small portion guilty of being 'weasels', as Sookie called them. Minor infractions that would result in the respective human's glamouring and casting aside.

Sookie called several pets up at once to clear them in a group because all of them were having violently defensive thoughts about 'Steve Newlin' being behind her. "Folks, these pets are keepers. Everyone one of them wants to rip Newlin's throat out just for making your lives difficult. Take care." After a few more trivial offenses were taken care of, Sookie relieved another large batch of Vampires in the same manner, clearing more than 50 much needed seats. Several other Vampires had only been in attendance to swear that they kept no pets and handled their own finances… and after hearing what they did, weren't planning on changing their practices anytime soon.

From time to time, Sookie had Alcide move a pet and its master to the front row, including Isobel and Hugo. Then some were moved to the back… as Sookie progressed, new arrivals filled the chasm in between.

By 1am, Sookie had sent 226 Vampires away knowing that they'd either been lucky enough to have trustworthy pets, or lucky enough to only have gold-digging ones.

We were left looking at 270 seated bodies and a gathering of 112 along the side and back walls.

Just as I was starting to wonder how the entire Dallas area had no drainers and dealers, Hunter looked up from his coloring book to whisper, "What's V?"

Sookie sighed and told him that he was about to find out and leaned over to Jason. "Hey, Jas. Ready to get graded?"

He cringed and shrugged without speaking.

Sookie called the front 4 rows, plus the 6 on the fifth row… 29 Vampires and 37 pets came forward to sign their agreements or have their IDs scanned…

Sookie waved one pairing over to the side addressed the mass in front of us. "Unfortunately, I'm not giving y'all good news. The 28 of you are keeping drainers. Your blood is on the market now. Most of these humans know each other because they're trading your blood back and forth to prevent a bond that would give them away obviously. I'm sorry."

In spite of the instantaneous showing of 28 pairs of fangs, Sookie only felt shame and pity while the opportunistic fucks either tried to escape or deny the accusation.

Once that group had been cleared out of the room, Sookie called the next 5 rows forward and separated two pairs to have them stand with the other.

She snacked from her platter while 42 pets and 27 Vampires, including Isobel and Hugo, awaited to hear her opinion.

"Devoted. Every damn one of them. Sadly, they're all devoted to the Fellowship instead of y'all..."

Jason grumbled to no one in particular, "Fucking hell… assholes… make me want to not be human."

Sookie whispered, "I know, right?" and continued to address the group, "Most of these guys had a fangirl moment when they saw 'Newlin'. Some of you already know about one of them being part of Ferrell's captivity… He knows several of the others standing here right now…"

The reaction among that group was similar to the first.

There was a woman who called Sookie a 'minion' as she was dragged away… Sookie shook her head, trying to ignore how embarrassed she was to be human and leaned over to whisper, "Do you prefer being called Satan or Lucifer? Beelzebub?" _**My minion.**_

I chuckled into her ear, "I prefer it when you call me, '_oh God, oh God'_…."

She blushed, hiding her laughter against my shoulder.

Knowing our plans to use Newlin's disciples to encourage him to be useful to Vampires, Alcide and the Berts ushered that group to one of the green rooms to explain that in the near future, their repugnant pets would, indeed, be serving a 'higher' purpose.

Finally, Sookie stood up to address the remaining curiosity in the room.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience. Good news, bad news… the bad news is that all of your pets have an ulterior motive for being with you. The good news is that none of them have betrayed you. Most of them just want to be turned. Some of them just enjoy the materialistic perks like clothes and gifts, but honestly, that's kind of like having a normal human relationship. There's a few mixed into the group that are just rebelling against their upbringing or whatever. If you're invested enough to want something specific, just line up… otherwise…"

Before she had the chance to finish, the Vampires nodded to her first, then their Sheriff… and cleared out fast enough for the breeze to turn the pages of Hunter's coloring book. The only ones who stayed were the 3 that Sookie had stand to the side with their pets… but she released them too.

Sookie sat back down and scowled at the humans left behind. "Don't y'all look at me like that. It's not like any of y'all loved them. Hit bricks."

We waited while the room emptied and suddenly, Sookie started cackling…. "Definitely."

"What was that?"

She grinned as Hunter smiled to himself. "Hunter just added a lot of nasty names to his no-no list… pretty much…"

He finished for her. "I can't say anything they just thought about Sookie."

"He's going to need another book to keep track of them all. So… _I'm dying to know_… How did Jason score?"

She cleared her throat and grinned at him… letting his tension build until he began squirming. "When you played ball… wasn't your batting average like .740?"

He scowled. "It was .780. Dammit, you might have protection, but if you don't spill, I'ma give ya a brother whoopin'."

She laughed at the threat. "How about .891, brother? The only ones you were wrong about were in the group of ones that were just looking for a Sugar Daddy." Impressive batting average.

"No shit."

"No fucking way."

"Good lord."

"Shize."

"Mien Gott."

All of the verbal reactions to Jason's 'instincts' overlapped… His response was, "Yer fucking with me."

"I'm serious, Jason… and jealous as HELL! I'm filing a grievance with the abilities board. I want yours."

"It ain't like I can trade. Fuck! I ain't even know I could do anything! What were the three I was wrong about doing?"

"One was already trolling for another Vampire to spoil him. One was just trying to make another Vampire jealous and one was on her fourth Vampire in an attempt to be turned… and the exes were in the room. They were all feeling guilty about things."

His mouth hung open.

Pam patted his knee to try breaking his stupor. "Jason, I think you're officially Intuitive."

"What the hell is that!?"

"Right now, as it relates to you, it means you can pick assholes out of a crowd. You already established that you have a way of sensing different breeds of Supernaturals. With practice, you might be able to start sensing specific moods. Lord knows, Sookie's gift has developed since she started stretching her legs."

He folded his arms and sat back for a moment and eventually left the room without another word.

Sookie frowned as she told me that we'd talk about it later.

While we waited for the few stragglers that hadn't checked in with Stan, Sookie finally had Barry bring a sandwich to her so that she could eat and shared her dinner break with Alcide and Cataliades, she told the Berts that their dinners from the night before had returned with hopes of a repeat and were waiting in the bar, found a suitable donor for Pam, and oohed and ahhhed with Hunter over his impressive 'collection' of Vampires.

Oh… and she asked Quinn to 'be a dear' and restack the chairs since they were no longer needed. '_With sugar on top'_. She had me release him for the night once the job was done… Alcide had been cut loose as well, but he opted to stay.

When Pam returned from her break, she handed an envelope to Barry. He opened it skeptically and a moment after he started reading, he shouted, "OH SHIT!"

Sookie giggled without looking back, "Something wrong, Barry?"

"Uhhhhhhhh…"

"If you don't like…"

"NO!"

Stan was understandably suspicious… he didn't say anything, but he did seem to watch Sookie more closely. Her face was a trap, letting nothing hint at her internal workings… I was the only one to get any hints at all.

And it was only the one... Even though she was comfortably at my side while she colored with Hunter, I could feel her presence behind me as though she was in both places. Not only could I locate her, I was starting to feel where her thoughts directed.

_**That**__ was remarkable._

Barry finally set the envelope next to Sookie and pressed it into the table with a single finger… She sang, "_Yes, he will_," and pushed the envelope over to Stan.

As soon as he opened the envelope and saw that he was looking at a contract for Barry, his fangs ran out making the boy jump.

Sookie giggled and grabbed his wrist, pulling him back. "_It's ok, kid_… that's not always a bad thing. Barry, meet Sheriff Stan Davis. Sheriff, Barry Horowitz, your new Telepath."

Barry had the sense to nod instead of offer his hand. "Nice to meet you sir."

"Speak when spoken to."

The color drained from his face instantly. "Yes sir. I apologize."

"I'll have you posing as a pet while you practice. Once you're more confident, your leash will get longer and eventually, you'll be made public. It would be a shame to be coveted before you have your sea legs… You have a lot to learn about being around Supernaturals, yes?"

"Sookie and her guard gave me a few basics earlier today."

"You'll need more. Your tutor has little practice at being a pet. You'll need to learn that role…" He'd flipped through the pages of the various contracts while he spoke and interrupted himself to pull a pen out of his pocket to sign them without negotiating the first clause and held the pen out to Barry.

He took it, but he hesitated. "I'm not sure I understand. Do vampires have different standards for pets in different areas?"

Stan started chuckling, "My boy… A pet is nothing. A pet is nothing more than a source of food and…" He looked down to remind himself that Hunter was only inches from him. "…well, _food_. Vampires have no more regard for the pet than you would for your refrigerator. What I meant was that Miss Stackhouse couldn't possibly teach you how to be a pet since she is _a peer_. Peers get contracts. Pets get cell phones."

"Then why…?"

"_Why go to the trouble of learning to behave as a pet? _To ease your mission of interloping. Eventually you'll have to expose your ability, but while you're still wet behind your ears, pretending to be my pet will give me the ability to keep tabs on my Vampires' pets and them. I'm not telling anyone of your ability. Only Northman's subjects and my King will know I have you for now."

Barry nodded, obviously less troubled, and signed his contract with Stan and the pledge of 10 days of service to Louisiana, by way of me, _the fucking Lieutenant_. 'Lieutenant Eric Northman, Auxiliary Regent to the Sovereignty of Louisiana'. Pam was going to pay for that.

They were still discussing particulars when we left to go back to our rooms…

As soon as the elevator doors sealed us into space, Sookie was startled by Mr. Cataliades's sudden torrent of gratuitous complements that continued until we reached our floor. The corners of his mouth were still frighteningly close to his ears as he disappeared into his room, thanking us for allowing him to witness Sookie 'in action'…

Her blush was so complete that her hands were warmer than usual.

As we passed the door to Pam's room, Sookie let go of my hand to knock on the door. "Y'all go ahead. I need to talk to Jason. I'll just be a minute."

I wanted to wait for her, but there were calls to be made…

Hunter wasted no time, taking his atlas to his room to change for bed… and Pam wasted no time sitting on the sofa across from me to begin the staring she'd been wanting to do earlier…

I tossed my jacket to a chair and laid on the sofa, eyes closed so that I wouldn't see the look on her face, but it wasn't long before I could feel it anyway.

"Don't stare."

"Eric…"

"Don't you mean, Lieutenant?"

"How worried are we… _really_?"

"She's been stupid consistently since 1722… I think that her pride is either going to come to a head soon, or never."

"Were you thinking during the clinic or watching?"

"Watching. I was trying to not think about Sophie-Ann's attempt for a Darwin award… Do they give those to Vampires?"

"Of course they do, but they're bigger… they'd have to be to represent the monumental absurdity required to end ourselves accidentally."

"Order a trophy. I want it to be as big as the Stanley Cup. I'll send it to her full of posies."

"Posies?"

"The Plague Song… _pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes, we all fall down_…"

"That's more morbid than you usually aim for."

"I asked her if she was retarded when she was alive."

Pam chuckled, "You what?"

"When she didn't like my attitude, I told her to fire me. I'm not biting my tongue any longer. I told her to end Hadley because she's the weakest link…"

She chirped, "Goodbye."

"I hated that program… I think we'll be fine. I'm sure that anyone who wants to move on Louisiana will advance on her first."

"Why not you first?"

"Because Threadgill thinks I'm a Sheriff because Sophie-Ann enjoys the view…"

"She does."

"And DeCastro knows how stupid she is…"

"So her Lieutenant and Sheriffs can't be good choices."

"He'd try to trick me into giving him my candy first."

"Insulate or escape?"

"Escape. I'm not prepared to fight for a state I don't want. I'm not as stupid as Sophie-Ann. If Arkansas or Nevada end her, we'll leave."

"Where do we relocate?"

"Monaco."

She chuckled again. "Hunter might explode… How is Sookie taking things?"

"Surprisingly well. I haven't told her that we'd leave before I sharpened our guillotine for them, but all things considered, I think she'd understand."

"We'd have to bring Jason, of course."

"_Would you miss him?_"

"Asshole. I meant because Sookie wouldn't want to leave him behind."

"I'm aware."

"That you're an asshole or that she'd put up a fight if she'd never see him again?"

"Yes."

She moved, coming to the sofa to sit next to me and lay her head on my chest. "What needs to be done?"

"Nothing. We don't have enough here to think about it. We'll just walk away. I haven't kept much in our American accounts since '29."

"_Ahhhhh, the good old days."_

"When losing a million dollars in the crash was a big deal? You're right about that."

She chuckled, "God bless Swiss Banking."

Sookie returned to our room, closing the door behind her quietly and going directly to Hunter's room to tell him goodnight...

When she joined us, she slid over the back of the sofa to use the other half of my chest as a pillow.

"So other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?"

Pam snickered and kissed her forehead. "Leave it to you."

"What? I'm only 25. Why do I have to be the one to tell y'all that life sucks?"

"Life sucks?"

"Yeah… Sometimes, the only thing in the cupboard is a shit sandwich. Your options are eat it or starve to death."

I couldn't tell if Pam wanted to slap Sookie or laugh. "So we eat it. Then what?"

"Then we deal with the bad breath and heartburn until we can get rid of it."

"Is it that easy?"

"No, but the shit sandwich is gross enough. I'll be damned if I'm going to put shit on everything else I eat."

"You're saying that we shouldn't let Eric's new position bring us down until we have something tangible to concern ourselves with?"

"No. I'm saying that I should've stuck with the fruit tray. _My dinner was horrible_." Pam fought the urge to laugh and slapped Sookie's ass. "I had to wake up Paulette to get some ginger root…" The ginger scented raspberry that Sookie blew was Pam's undoing.


	25. Chapter 25

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 25**

**Acquisition**

When I died, I braced myself.

Adele's theory about the mood I went to rest in… Part of me was worried that I'd wake to find myself in the worst of possible scenarios. Part of me was hoping for it so that I'd learn something to be watchful for.

Pam and I laid to rest feeling as though we were sitting on a razor's edge in spite of Sookie's short lived comic relief, and Sookie fell to sleep worried for her brother. His sudden exit the night before was fueled by guilt… Guilt for how he regarded Sookie's ability when they were children. Guilt for having such an impressive batting average… when she went to him, he told her that it didn't matter if he 'hit .999' because Rene was the ball he missed.

The siblings had finally found something they had in common, even if it was regretting that a psychopathic serial killer had slipped under their respective radar at the most inopportune time imaginable.

With all of that in mind, the first thing I did as I woke was lift Sookie's hand from where it rested on my chest and smile…

Papillion bleu… as soon as I confirmed that I had My Sookie, I let myself enjoy the scent she'd brought to bed with her…

She couldn't have been with me long, a few minutes at best… the sheets hadn't warmed with her yet.

She hummed as she twisted her fingers into mine. "Paranoid?"

"Skipping wasn't far from my mind. I wasn't sure if I wanted some insight… until I saw your ring…"

She kissed my chest and tightened her leg around mine. "I'm relieved too."

"I might not care which Sookie I was with though… not when you smell like this."

"Then it's a good thing I had Quinn watch over me while I laid out on the roof… I might have fallen asleep listening to Alcide calculate threats instead of Quinn being a pervert."

I rolled over to put myself on top of her, pushing my face into the side of her neck and filling my senses. "You're going to have to tell me what you did do today… get it out of the way."

She chuckled against my ear, "I visited my dad in jail."

I groaned as I pulled myself away enough to look at her ring again, "I thought that he's dead."

"My actual dad is dead, yes."

"Then explain." I started drifting, rubbing my way down her body… enjoying what I could before it was gone, knowing that we wouldn't be spending the first part of our night with Vampires… I could get away with not showering.

Her fingers ran through my hair, making the encounter that much more divine. "When Alcide woke up, there was a message waiting for him. Someone left an envelope at the desk… it had a news clipping about a guy who robbed banks by saying that the teller _**wanted**_ to fill an envelope for him. He'd stand in line and wait and once he was gone, the teller would report the missing money. She didn't know why her drawer was out of twenties when she'd wait on the next customer in line."

I pulled the straps of her bathing suit from her shoulders as I inched down. I couldn't pry myself away from her to pull it down her legs and ripped it instead… "Why is that relevant to Alcide?"

"Brian hit 27 banks in as many weeks so it was on the news. The banks in the area were alerted to his MO. It finally didn't work. The teller's name was in the article. Alcide called the local Packmaster, said a friend of his Mom used to live here and gave her name… and she just so happens to have been in the pack."

"So… _Brian_?"

She nodded. "Brian Webster."

"Brian is a _pusher_?"

"Yes he is."

"You visited him?"

"He doesn't know how he got it. He has a big family and he used to entertain himself at family functions by making them do silly stuff to each other for a laugh. He seems like an alright guy, other than the fact that he told me that I _wanted_ to take my top off for him." Vulgar, but… I couldn't blame him for trying.

"How long has he been in jail?"

She giggled, "Long enough to be thinking on the depraved side."

"He's the only one in his family with the ability? _Any ability?_"

"Yeah… As far as he knows. I feel bad for him. They told him that 'his daughter' was there to see him and he was really excited until he saw me. He hasn't seen her in a few months because she lives in Vicksburg with her family."

"So his ability doesn't work on Supernaturals?" I stopped between her legs, all too tempted to play, but forced myself to keep going so that Sookie could finish her story.

"No. Just humans, _buuuuuuutt_ no one knew he was there. He can make people not notice him."

"I could do the same with glamour…"

"Not during the day…" she sang the rest, "_and not over the phone_." That made the man's ability all the more valuable.

"Over the phone?"

"_Yes sir._ That's how he found out he could do it. His older brother called home to check in when they were teenagers and instead of asking, he jokingly told his brother that he wanted to bring him a Whopper because he'd seen some cartoon with a hypnotism scene." With the right phone number, Webster could push one of Threadgill's own pets to stake him while he was dead for the day.

"And how can he help from jail?"

She sighed as she rolled over, giving me the fresh expanse of her back. "He just so happens to be meeting with the parole board next month. He's been locked up for 15 years. They couldn't put him away for the whole thing because of how he did it."

"Did you hire him?"

"Not without talking to you. I just told him I was a headhunter for a Vampire out of Louisiana. He just seemed happy that I believed him, maybe even met someone as weird as he is."

"And what do you propose we do with Mr. Brian Webster?"

"Get him laid so he'll stop thinking about my rack." That was a given.

I couldn't help but laugh, causing chills to spread over Sookie's back, making her arch enough that I couldn't resist the urge to nip. "After that?"

"He said if there was a straight job waiting for him when he got out he could take care of being allowed to move wherever. I think keeping him on retainer is smart. He could come in handy with all the shit going on and…"

"And what?"

She sighed, "Eric, if Hadley keeps it up… Brian could push a servant to take care of her when the Queen can't feel it."

I whispered against her shoulder, "Can you read his mind?"

"He's more sketchy than most human's, but readable."

I had to lift away from her, unable to think about business and what I wanted anymore… "Then we'll have Pam draw up his contract tonight and you can take it to him tomorrow. We'll hire him under the pretext of security until he's released and can sign a more detailed contract. Find out what he wants as a deposit."

"Meaning?"

"Cigarettes, snack food, conjugal visits… _whatever it is that inmates covet_… ask him if he has a preference on quarters and vehicle so that when he's released, we don't have to wait for him… Are we almost done?"

She snickered as she lifted her ass to rub against my cock. "They're allowed to make phone calls, but the hours are short and only during the day."

I growled, "Give him Alcide's number. He can take care of that end. Are we done?"

She rolled to her side and hooked her hand around my neck to pull me back to her. "Not only are we done… _we're alone_."

That was what I'd been waiting to hear…

"Promise me something."

She ran her tongue along the front of my neck, turning the 'anything' I meant to say into a growl.

"When we get home…" Nibbling my chin. "I want to spend all day in the sun…" Nuzzling her nose along the rim of my ear. "And the first thing we do when you rise…" Tugging my hair. "Is press the record button."

As though I needed more stimuli…

I bit into my lip, wanting at least a preview of what being home had to offer and she reached up, pricking her finger on my fang and spread her blood to mix with mine…

By the time she lifted to kiss me, my lips throbbed and I felt like I was sweating.

I was still trying to stop gasping for air I didn't need when there was a knock on the door…

Sookie was slumped over my chest, her heart was pounding hard enough to beat for the both of us and she was getting the reins on her breathing faster than I was. She giggled, "I'm not getting up. I don't have my legs back yet."

"I'm still heaving… I'm not answering it."

She growled and dragged her teeth over my chest as she pushed off of me and staggered across the floor. "Why do you always win?"

"Because I'm a God."

She blew a raspberry as she closed the door behind her…

Only a moment later, I heard Pam bitching, "New rule. When Jason is babysitting, you _**ARE NOT**_ allowed to wake Eric up like that. I have blue balls."

Sookie giggled, "You'll forgive me."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I have a present for you."

There was a brief silence before I felt Pam's curiosity. "I love the color, but why is it in a ziplock… _you didn't_."

"I hope you think it's suitable for Ferrell's party."

"What are you wearing?"

"The same thing in blue."

"Did you ignore Eric's wardrobe?"

"Not at all… I had a lot to do today so I swapped between that and two shirts for him while I sunned on the roof. Quinn made fun of me… but you should see the top of baldy's dome… he's got such a sunburn his head could glow in the dark." All I could think was that I didn't deserve her.

"I'd hug you but your smell would make my blue balls worse… Jason says that we're taking Hunter out while you and Eric dragnet the Big D for supes stuck in asylums."

"We found out that there's a museum here with a huge dino exhibit. I figured you'd have more fun with that than sitting here with movies."

"Are we taking guards?"

"Hunter wants to take _the Uncles_… Alcide wants to go with us. Paulette has other plans tonight. She has friends in Fort Worth."

"Do they have evening hours?"

"They have Vampire night guards. I called and made an appointment for you guys. There's usually a wait, but for the entourage of a visiting Lieutenant, they made an exception."

"_My, my, my. Aren't we resourceful?_ What will poor Quinn do?"

Sookie snorted out an evil little giggle. "Aloe his melon and sleep sitting up?"

Pam actually snickered… _like a school girl_. "And then we meet at Stan's nest… Sounds like we have a plan. Go shower. Your stench is distracting."

Sookie sang, "_Eric didn't complain_." No, I didn't. Not at all.

Pam crooned back, "_Because he already got his_."

Sookie closed the door behind Pam and got in 'the last word', "Damn right he did."

After the longest debate I'd ever participated in about my hygiene... and winning it because I'd already put on the Sookie-scented T-shirt option before she came back to our room…

And the shortest 'briefing' I could imagine where Cataliades took his leave, our group split to tend to our individual tasks, loading our 'party clothes' into the trunks of our respective limos so that we wouldn't have to return to the hotel…

On our way to the first of five hospitals… since I was thinking more clearly, _more like thinking at all_, Sookie, Alcide and I made a list of questions for Brian Webster so that she could clarify a few things when she returned with his contract.

Researching said hospitals was what Sookie had been doing to fill her time while Quinn was sunburned enough to already have 'water blisters' on his scalp by the briefing…

The first of the hospitals was a short visit. The three of us were greeted by a receptionist of the two-natured variety and assured Sookie that there wasn't a single person there that wasn't 'nuts in one way or another'. We only spent a few minutes pacing the sidewalk along the outside of the Mental Heath wing before Sookie confirmed that there wasn't anything but Humans inside.

The second hospital's receptionist wasn't as helpful. One might call her belligerent since we interrupted her Facebook game… And again we paced the sidewalk for a few minutes while Sookie tried to detect anyone out of the ordinary other than a Human mind that made her dizzy.

By the time she'd searched the third hospital, even Alcide should've been able to feel how discouraged Sookie was. There was more nothing, making her sure that she was just naïve… That Michelle and Barry's discoveries had been a fluke.

En route to the fourth facility, she poured a gin and tonic for herself from the limited bar and sipped slowly before whining, "We should just go to Stan's, throw in the towel…"

"Which hospital would your mother have put you in?"

"What?"

"From the top of my head, there are 3 large mental health facilities in Shreveport, an in-patient facility in Ruston, one in Clarice, no less than 2 in Minden…"

Alcide added, "And the only thing in McCloud is that high security joint. God only knows about Monroe… 3 more maybe?"

I nodded. "So, in which one of those 11 places would your lovely mother have put you?"

"I don't know."

"And how many of _**you**_ are there?"

"In Area 5? Just me that we know of…"

"How long would you have been there?"

"I don't know…"

"I like your theory. We'll keep looking."

"We already…"

"Sookie… think of poor Michelle… _if her mother hadn't thought she was crazy_…"

"Oh. My. God."

I laughed, "What?"

"You know what! That was… _you sounded like a Baptist on Sunday!_"

Alcide started laughing. "Yeah, he did! And it's working. Shut up. We're halfway done already."

As she finished her drink, she growled that Pam would've been on her side.

Since Sookie was being 'forced' to continue the search 'under duress', we had the limo wait for us near the back… our reasoning was that Sookie could scan the wing as we walked by it to prevent the guessing game we'd been playing with the other receptionists.

We'd walked slowly since there were four floors to that particular facility for Sookie to scan and we'd gotten close to turning the corner when Sookie stopped in her tracks.

Alcide started chuckling, "Score one for the Baptist?"

Since she was concentrating, her reply was 'scratching' the side of her nose with her middle finger. She left us waiting for a few moments. "Alcide, when's the next full moon?"

"Five days. Why?"

"What would happen if you got locked up?"

"A Were?"

She nodded.

"What are you getting from him?"

"Not much… he's watching Naked Gun…"

"If he's still in there during the moon, then there's going to be a problem."

She shrugged. "Well… it's not exactly what we were looking for… C'mon."

We didn't bother with questioning the woman behind the info desk. She didn't seem to know her head from the hole in her ass _before_ I glamoured her to slide her pass card through the scanner to let us in.

Another glamour had an orderly walk right by us without notice…

Sookie sucked her teeth and whispered her disappointment that there wasn't a chart on the door to give us any clues before she knocked on it.

The Were who opened the door didn't look old enough to change... awkward, wearing scrubs, no taller than Sookie… mouth hung open, brown eyes as big as dinner plates that took a while to realize that anything other than Sookie's breasts were in the hallway. He was enjoying her snug tank top as much as I was and it didn't help that the air conditioning had done marvelous things to her nipples.

If nothing else, she was flattered rather than offended.

"Mind if we come in? It's past visiting hours and we need to talk."

He raised his eyebrow. "How about you come in and they stay outside."

Even though Alcide and I growled, Sookie giggled. "Slow your roll, stud. You gonna stop imagining a blow job long enough to let us in?"

"What?"

"The virginity gods haven't sent you an angel, Kiddo, but _I am_ here to help…" The boy blushed as she put her hand against his chest and slowly advanced, leading us in. "Now, how did you end up in here?"

He was still staring at her as she rested against the window ledge. "I don't know…"

"Knock that off… Where's your family?"

"I don't know."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed the pillow from his bed, hugging it to cover herself. If it had been Quinn, she'd have hit him by then, but the boy's thoughts were amusing her. "Let's start with something easy. How about your name."

"Adam Edwards…"

"Nice to meet you, Jeff Perry. Now, how long have you been here?"

"I… how did you…?"

"I'm a mind reader… Your turn. How long?"

"Three weeks… I blacked out and the cops found me in the park naked."

"Where's your family?"

"I don't have one. I ran away from a group home…"

"No you didn't."

"Yes, I…"

"Why did you run away?"

"I… I started blacking out… I… I killed my mom's cat."

She stared at him for a long moment before her eyes started to well up. She shook her head. "You've been on your own for a year?"

"Yeah… I… Have a little brother. I was afraid…"

He stopped talking when Alcide growled, that time it was less human. "You're the oldest. You've been 'blacking out'. You dream that you're some kind of animal and you wake up naked in weird places and can't really piece together how you got there. All you want is a toothbrush and a bath and all you do is veg for a day or two afterwards."

"Yeah… are you a '_mind reader'_ too?"

"No. I'm like you."

"Nuts? Awesome. The bipolar next door just went home. We can share DVDs from the media cart."

Alcide managed to chuckle at the sarcastic little shit. "Were you adopted? Living in foster care?"

"No… I look just like my Mom. Why? What's this all about?"

"You beat your parents to the punch kid… You ran off before they could have the talk with you."

"I had sex ed…"

He snorted, "Not that talk." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone…

The boy started panicking when Sookie gave Alcide a phone number that he dialed right away. "No! You can't call them! I could…"

Alcide smirked and pressed the speaker button, completely ignoring the boy.

"Hello?" Jeff's mouth closed as soon as he heard the woman's voice.

Alcide answered, "Mrs. Perry?"

"Yes. Who's this?"

"My name is Alcide Herveaux. I'm security for a Vampire from Shreveport. We were looking for someone else, but…"

"Ohmygod! _**JEFF!**_"

"Yes ma'am."

"Is he ok? Where is he? He's been gone… _Where is he?_"

"He seems fit as a fiddle other than being confused about why he's been blacking out. He let himself get checked into Dondalson in Irving."

She sobbed, "That's what we were afraid of… We were hoping he'd find a pack at least…"

"He's been staying away because he thinks he's a danger to his little brother."

"I can be there in 10 minutes… Oh my god… I'm going to… oh my god… we'll be right there."

"He'll be in the limo waiting around back."

Alcide barely had his phone back in his pocket before the boy charged him. "Why did you do that!? _I'm just going to have to run away again!_"

Alcide caught the boy's wrists and held them out to the sides and towered over him. Sookie giggled that they looked like they were dancing. "Kid, you need to settle down. If you don't, you're going to black out."

"How do you know?"

"I told you. I'm like you. You're not '_blacking out'_. When you wake up, you aren't remembering '_dreams_'… You aren't trying to figure out why you're dreaming about being an animal. You. Are. An. Animal…"

"You're crazier than I am!"

"Shhhhhh. I told you to calm down. Wolf?"

"How did you…?"

"I'm a wolf too."

The boy looked like he was going to cry. "That's not funny! Is this what you do for kicks? Mess with crazy people?"

Alcide shook his head slowly and released a low, guttural growl that made the boy break a sweat. "Now you try."

It was weak, but Jeff's attempt to mimic Alcide surprised him. "What the hell was that?"

"You're a Werewolf, kid. An early bloomer too, unfortunately. I was 13 when I first started getting antsy during full moons…"

"I was 12. _Full moons?_"

Alcide nodded and released Jeff's wrists. "So my old man sat me down and told me what's what. I changed for the first time a couple months later. Were you hiding it?"

Jeff winced and whatever he thought, made Sookie giggle. "Oh. My. God. Are you really a mind reader?"

She nodded slowly and the boy's face turned nearly as red as Quinn's scorched head. "Don't worry. Now that we've got you figured out, I'll mind my own business and stay out of your head."

Jeff hid his face in his hands. "Too damn late!"

She tossed his pillow back to the bed and walked over to the door. "I'm a telepath. It's not the worst I've ever seen. C'mon. You've kept your mom waiting for a year."

Sookie wept through the reunion. Not only did Jeff's mother come to get him, but she brought her husband and the little brother Jeff had been afraid to hurt…

The father apologized to the boy repeatedly for not realizing he was 'ripe' yet while the mother clung to her sons like she was afraid he'd run away again.

As soon as Sookie settled next to me, Alcide tossed a box of tissues at her. She laughed as she blew her nose and told us to 'go ahead and make fun'.

Alcide shook his head. "Naw. I get it… I'm not a big enough asshole…"

"That's sweet. Thanks."

"I'll tell Pam. She'll take care of it for me."

She snickered and threw the box of tissues at him. "Alright. I guess I learned my lesson. We'll start going through mental wards everywhere we go. I hate that for him."

She didn't lose hope when the next hospital had nothing to offer… In fact, she suggested that we start making a list of institutions in our Area as well as Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Jackson since we knew we'd be visiting those areas soon enough.

As the limo pulled around to the back of the Corson Center, something made Sookie stare at the side of the building and blindly shove her pen and notepad back into her purse.

"Another runaway Shifter?"

She seemed hypnotized as she shook her head slightly and yelled to the driver to stop… when the car lurched, she all but ran from the car…

Her hand was waiting for mine, determined and still staring at the same area that caught her attention. "What is it?"

She shook her head again and whispered, "I don't know… but I can tell you what it _isn't_." That by itself was interesting, if not alarming. She'd met Vampires, Shifters, Weres, Daemons…

I followed Sookie's line of sight. Most of the windows were dark with the curtains closed… the one that wasn't seemed to be what had Sookie's attention. While Sookie closed her eyes to concentrate on the dimly lit room on the third floor, I focused on what could be seen beyond the glass… The walls were covered with drawings. Some of them more detailed than others, but wall to wall nonetheless.

Sookie breathed, "Bigger than you."

"How so?"

"You… your mind fills a room… that one… Eric, that one is spilling out."

"But not Vampire?"

Her head tilted. "No… Not Vampire… it's like… like a cluster of… bubbles? Maybe crystals… I don't…"

She stopped herself when a figure came to the window. The girl seemed to notice us right away and offered a pleasant smile and wave. "Sookie, are there any other minds around?"

"No. Not outside. Why?"

I let go of her hand, flying towards the window slowly. She continued smiling as though flying was the most normal thing she'd ever seen. Short, plump, porcelain pale skin and hair dyed an unnatural blue-black. Her fingertips and the heel of her right hand were stained… Once I was eye to eye with her, she used a grease pencil to scrawl backwards, "Ema Oswald, nice to meet you."

I reached for my phone, not sure of any other way to give her my name but to type it out. She tapped the glass to stop me and once she had my attention, she held up a sketch… She giggled as I was riveted and then motioned to wave us in.

When I landed next to Sookie again, she grabbed my hand. "Your. Mouth. Is. Open. What the hell was that?"

It was my turn to be awestruck. "I don't know, but she just… that drawing she just held up, was of me… _hovering outside of her window_."

I glamoured our way through the hospital and onto the third floor…

And without having to knock, the door swung open. The girl was chipper if nothing else. "Hey guys!" Since Sookie hadn't ever met another Faerie that she knew of, it took the door opening and the completely human scent to hit me before I stopped worrying that Ema could be Fae… more Fae, more tempting than Sookie. Relieved yes, but no less confused.

"Ema…"

"Eeeee-muh. I know it's weird but… hey, there's a Sookie and an Alcide in the room, so I'm not alone in that."

Sookie was practically frozen and the fact that she knew who we were had made Alcide retarded… leaving only me, as though I was doing much better. "How do you know who we are?"

She shrugged. "Dunno. I just got it."

"Got what exactly?"

"Dunno. I just start drawing or writing. Don't even realize I'm doing it." Amazing.

I couldn't help myself… I let my attention drift over the walls of her room to look over her artwork. "How did you end up here?"

"I don't exactly fit into my family… the goth look doesn't help me blend at Fellowship services so I'm kind of a black-sheep. My family is about as uptight as uptight gets. Anything that isn't white and Christian and Human is evil… they used to humor me and ask about what I'd drawn, but I got tossed in here a couple weeks ago when I drew a picture of someone they knew torturing a Vampire."

Sookie gasped, "Gabe?"

"Yeah. We know him from church. Of course they thought I need to be 'fixed'… Anyway, usually I might get something a couple times a week, but the past couple of days, I've been getting A LOT… Eric, what you're looking at is BS. While I've been in here, I've been drawing on my own so they think I'm just artistic."

"Which are which then?"

"None of those… Here, I keep the ones I don't draw on purpose apart from the rest. That's why those suck… My handwriting is even different." She held out a portfolio, wiggling it while she waited for me to take it. "What am I?"

I waited to answer her, still unwilling to label her yet…

Sookie and Alcide might as well have been attached to me while I unzipped the binder. Sookie gasped as soon as the cover was pealed back…

Alcide grumbled, "That's not good." as he looked at the sketch of Sookie in a hospital bed.

Sookie reached behind me and patted his shoulder. "I think that already happened… that looks like when Rene got me. "

No less than 40 sketches… some of them were detailed drawings of people with their names… including two almost identical drawings of the Berts.

Most of them were of the past that she couldn't possibly know anything about…

All of them were more skilled than the ones hanging on the wall with poster tack. Some were obvious…

Two Sookies, two mes, together in an office that didn't exist any longer…

Hunter lining his dinosaur figures up from largest to smallest along the side of my pool while he cooled his bare feet in the water…

Sookie and me playing poker…

Some more abstract…

Two cell phones sitting atop a toilet next to a towel…

A garbage can full of Red Bull cans…

A door that had been pushed off its hinges, resting on a tile floor…

All of them dated before we experienced them, anywhere from a day to a week early…

Cold reading might've been on my list of possibilities until I was about half way through the stack of pages…

A primitive road… a moonlit sky… a horse without a rider and an 'injured' man lying on the ground…

I stared at the sketch for too long. Long enough for Sookie to ask, "I don't recognize that. Does it ring any bells for you?"

"That would be the night I met my maker… Ema, if I'm right, you don't know anything about what you draw."

"Right. I almost never get any kind of story to go with it… I… some of those pictures don't make any damn sense unless you know what's happened. I mean cell phones on a toilet? Why'd I draw two pictures of the same guy? Bizarr-oh."

"You've been drawing 'us' for more than a month?"

"Yeah, I guess… Y'all are doing ok with the drawings though? I mean… So far? You know what they mean?"

We all nodded and I finally turned over the page from where I was stuck staring at my last night alive…

The next few pages was a list… just a word or two at a time… As I scanned it, she explained that she 'pitched' the originals because they'd been written on anything from tissues to toast…

The names of every member of our entourage and what we were, but not together... some that made Sookie giggle like 'Snowsuit' and 'McNugget'… but there were a few that left Sookie and me with less than happy feelings… 'Hyprocrite,' 'pearls' and 'freedom'.

The last few pages were drawings of things that we couldn't identify with any certainty, but had an idea about…

A room that none of us recognized engulfed in flames… given the political nonsense surrounding us, it didn't take much to assume that an enemy might be eliminated…

Sookie snuggled with Hunter… that would be a given…

Another drawing of what seemed to be a skip, the four of us congregated on the porch of Sookie's house…

The sight of two Jasons made Sookie giggle and claim that if Pam bonded with her brother, they'd only skip once because Jasons' heads would explode…

And a drawing of my closet bursting with not only my clothing, but Sookie's as well. That was a more than welcome sight…

The last of the sketches took us all by surprise… as much as the first one had when I was outside her window…

It was of the three of us hovering over her portfolio…

When we all turned to look at her, she began cackling. "See… that one makes sense now, but if mailed it to you last week when I drew it you woulda been all, 'WTF?'. Ya know?"

"Automatic writing."

"Huh?"

"Automatic writing. It's a kind of clairvoyance."

"Have you met anyone else like me?"

"No. I've only ever read about it… in fiction. Does it make you feel better to know that I'd never met a telepath? In the last month, I've met four."

Sookie shook her head. "You said you'd known a psychic though." Oops.

"Reading tea leaves isn't quite on the same level as this."

Ema chirped, "So what are y'all? I mean… I'm Ema the _automatic writer_…"

Sookie laughed, "Sorry. All this and you don't know… Um. Eric is a Vampire… Alcide is a Werewolf… I'm a telepath."

"A telepath?" It was 'bizarr-oh' to me that she wasn't more preoccupied with the news that there was a Vampire in her room or that Werewolves were real.

Sookie nodded, "I read minds."

Ema bounced and clapped her hands. "Can you… maybe you can read my mind the next time I start drawing… and see what's going through my head?"

"I can try… but… your mind is nothing like anything I've ever come across. I don't get anything from you."

She shrugged. "Worth a try, I guess… I'm all packed. Ready to get out of here?"

Sookie snorted. "That's called kidnapping."

"Um… Technically, it's called signing out against medical advice. I'm 18."

"Really?"

"Yeah… I would've signed out and taken off already if I wasn't… well, I kind of felt like I needed to be here. Like I was waiting."


	26. Chapter 26

Meanwhile

Chapter 26

Still

As she settled into her seat in the limo, I started her education. "We leave for Louisiana tomorrow night."

Ema shrugged with a cooperative grin on her face. "K. How does this work?"

"Paulette will give you a tour of Shreveport. She'll help you find an apartment and everything you need. We'll negotiate your rate and you'll contact us if you draw or write anything else that pertains to us."

"K. Sounds good to me. Can I like, get a job? So I don't get bored."

"Of course. The more normal you seem to be, the less questions there will be about you. Have you worked before?"

"Yeah… I've had a couple gigs at retail places."

"Pam is planning to open her own boutique, so if you find it hard to keep a job because of your ability, I'm sure something can be arranged."

"Sweet. Thanks."

"How does it happen? Do you not get any warning?"

"Ummm… The thing is… I mean… it was never a big deal, you know because I always drew people I know. I'd draw an argument before it happened or whatever… When I started drawing y'all, it was just weird. I've never like, gone ballistic looking for something to draw with or anything, but like as soon as there's some kind of medium… I go off. My mom used to laugh and say I was 'in my own little world'… School was rough, but while I still went, I started waking up an hour early and I'd sit with a pencil and a notebook while I watched TV in my room… It usually got it out of my system."

"While you went?"

"Yeah. I used to drop everything to start drawing, 'ADD' earned me homeschooling since my aunt was already doing it for religious reasons."

Sookie cooed, "That must've been nice. To not have to worry about it."

Ema shrugged again. "Yes and no. I'd rather it just left me alone until 3, ya know?"

Sookie nodded, understanding all too well what the girl meant. "I hear ya… My brother never had a problem either. Pissed. Me. Off. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Both… older and younger I'm the middle of 5… Our family reunions are insane… my mom and dad are from big families too… So. What else?" I couldn't have been less sure of how to answer that. We'd been looking for telepaths. I had a speech prepared for _**that**_.

"That depends on you. I have every intention of keeping you and your ability completely hidden for your own safety."

"I made it this long though…"

"And your own parents locked you away because of their lack of understanding. If other vampires were to find out about your precognitive abilities, you could find yourself dangerously coveted. We know for a fact that Sookie's ability is desired enough that some would turn her, bond to her and confine her for the benefit of telepathy. If you chose to notify others of your drawings…"

"How would I do that though? I didn't know who y'all were until you showed up."

"With some research, dots could be connected. For instance, mailing the picture that was drawn of Gabe torturing Ferrell…"

"Ferrell was one of the words I got, but it happened a couple days later. I didn't know if it was one of y'alls last names…"

"The name wouldn't have been necessary. Since you knew it was Gabe, in Dallas, the picture could've been mailed to the Area Sheriff as an anonymous warning. He would've been able to identify the victim … He could've cautioned Ferrell."

"Did Ferrell die because I didn't know that?"

"No. He's recovering. We're actually on our way to his 'Welcome Home' party. According to the date though, Stan might have been able to warn Ferrell before the abduction."

"Shit."

"Don't waste time regretting anything. You have no practice with your ability. With help you'll be able to start connecting the dots on your own…" I reached for her portfolio and Sookie instinctively handed her pen and notebook to me.

I went over the pages of words… copying them for the most part, but adding our last names with our first names… and chuckling again as I added Pam's former names, Winifred and Dolores, to her line… getting a more full laugh from Alcide's rendition of 'Winnie the Pooh' and promise to start calling Pam 'Pooh'…

I explained that Hugo was being coupled with Isobel and how they were connected to the drawing of Gabe and Ferrell. I explained why she'd written and drawn 'Bert' twice. They weren't twins, but one of their parents had dreadfully predominant genes and I preferred to think it was their father… otherwise their mother had been a Gorgon. Ema thought I was joking until I held one of the sketches up and told her to picture it with long hair… Alcide thanked me for the nightmares he was going to have.

Once I was done with the list, I moved to sit next to her and explained what she'd drawn, one picture at a time and promised to give details about the sketch of 'double trouble' in my former office as soon as we had more time.

The list was less than a quarter of its original length, making it far easier to explain who everyone was and why it was all there… and she thought it was hilarious that she'd written Red Bull repeatedly because of Sookie's binges.

There were a few words that didn't fit any of the situations we'd already found ourselves in. But like some of the pictures that we hadn't already experienced, we could take a wild guess or two.

As the limo pulled up to Stan's house, Alcide volunteered to accompany Ema back to the hotel to settle in so that no one would ask about her, more importantly, how much she smelled like a hospital.

I changed out of the T shirt ruined by the stench of clinical grade cleaners and into my Sookie scented dress shirt at the trunk while Sookie changed in the car…

Alcide leaned against the trunk with his arms folded. "That's insane."

"That Sookie found a bonafide psychic?"

"And a Were and a Pusher… In one fucking day."

"Everything has a different mind to her. I'm not surprised that she found them as much as I'm surprised that she found them all here… You didn't express an opinion about Webster."

"I told her I don't like it, but it's none of my business."

"Why not?"

"Because Webster is a Pusher, right… He could've pushed his way out of jail at any point over the last 15 years. But he's been rotting in a cage… The thought occurred to me that he's just ethical enough to take his punishment, but if that's the case, why the fuck is he thinking that he'd be fluffing pillows for a Vampire? I know enough about you that you wouldn't force him to kill anyone like you don't force Paulette to, but he doesn't… As far as he knows, he's going to be your button man."

"I don't plan to invite him for dinner. He's being paid, not adopted. I could care less what his reasons are."

"I don't know who the fuck left the article for me. The smell on the envelope was human. I don't know how the fuck my name was spelled right. Do you know how many messages I've gotten for Allie Harpo? Why was he robbing banks to begin with…He had a job. It's just not sitting right with me and Sookie rolled her eyes when I told her to ask him if he pushed to have the article delivered… if… I swear, dude, I want to know if that daughter of his is getting 'help' from Nevada or Arkansas."

"Did you have Sookie ask the clerk about who delivered the article?"

"Yeah. Tall guy. Light brown hair. Blue eyes…"

Sookie walked up behind him, instantly distracting me with how she looked in her dress. "Are you being paranoid again?"

"The word is still. I **still** have a bad taste in my mouth about this Webster guy."

"Even though I told you that he didn't tell me a single lie."

"Yeah. With everything going on, he looks like a plant or a patsy."

"Fine. _**You**_ go see him tomorrow."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You go for visiting hour and take his contract and the list of questions we came up with. You're going back to the hotel early, so research him and his family. His brother Luke died of a heart attack 2 years ago in Fort Worth. Look up his obit and start the family tree that way. If everything looks good…"

"Who?"

"Who what?"

"Who do you want him to kill? Hadley? Is that why you're hell bent to hire this guy?"

"Yes."

"That's beautiful. If you want her _**dead**_ dead then you should have the fucking balls to do it yourself."

"If it wasn't for the position she's in, I wouldn't care that she's a hateful bitch. She could keep on keeping on for all I'd care. She could be nasty to me for the rest of her life and I wouldn't do anything but argue with her. I wouldn't kill my cousin, but I'd definitely assassinate someone who can take down everyone I love. I'm hoping it won't come to that. He doesn't get out for another month. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she pulls her head out of her ass by then."

"He could be a trap though. If you're that adamant, I'll fucking kill her for you." He was that loyal? Already? Impressive.

"Then you should research Brian and let us know if you find anything to back up your gut feeling."

"What's his daughter's name?"

"Shelby. Shelby Webster Ulrich. Vicksburg. Why?"

"Because he was excited to see her. I'm starting my research there."

"K."

"Are you going to be a bitch if I'm right?"

She smirked. "That depends on how many times you rub it in."

He rolled his eyes around. "Stay out of my head so that I can be smug in private."

She grinned at him and shook his hand. "Deal."

Nostrils flared as we walked into Davis's nest. Not a few. All of them.

Sookie cut her eyes at me and cleared her throat.

I shrugged. "According to Pam, I'm a prideful mother fucker."

She giggled and curled her finger so that I'd bend over. She put her mouth to my ear and whispered, "A prideful mother fucker that smells like blood and cum and sunlight."

My brilliant comeback… "You said cum."

She blushed faster than her hands could get to her face. She was so embarrassed of her 'slip' that she didn't notice Isobel's approach…

She gave a respectful bow. "Lieutenant Northman, Miss Stackhouse…" Sookie righted herself, still glowing as she took my hand and squeezed it. "There seems to be a lot of requests for your company tonight. King Milne traveled from Houston when he heard that you planned to make an appearance tonight. Of course, Sheriff Davis and Ferrell would like the opportunity to thank you both… for everything."

"Far be it from me to keep a King waiting…"

As I took a step, Sookie resisted. "Um… at the risk of seeming rude, I'd feel better if I could go over the crowd of humans first. Would the King be too offended if I took a minute?" I didn't like the idea of leaving her on her own at all…

But Isobel answered too quickly. "I'm sure he'll understand. I'll show the Lieutenant to the King and come back to offer my assistance, if it pleases."

Sookie ran her thumb over the back of my ring while I considered everything. Where she was going to be wasn't what I was worried about. It was who she'd be with that concerned me. "There aren't that many here. 15 minutes, max."

The only reason behind the nod I gave her was feeling that Pam was just behind us, maybe only a mile or two away.

Not only did Milne stand when I entered the office, but he gave a bow deeper than the one that Isobel had given me.

"Lieutenant Northman, a pleasure to finally meet you. Wallace Milne." Bloated, freckled, stumpy, drab strawberry blond hair, bulging eyes, barely intelligible brogue… even if he'd been turned in his prime, he'd still have been hideous. He painted a breathtaking picture for Wales.

I returned his bow. "The pleasure is mine. How might I be of service?"

His laugh was obscenely loud and put on. "You already have. I understand your pet read more than 400 Humans in one sitting last night and delivered a gift wrapped telepath for my very own sheriff."

"I hope the Sheriff finds him useful. He's quite inexperienced, but Sookie assures me that he's no less capable than she was before applying herself."

He acted as though he was going to take his seat, but he stopped to eye me carefully… and sped over to stand next to me, taking in a long test of my scent. A fucking King. He moaned, "I was told she smells phenomenal… but that…"

My smile was proof of my 'prideful mother fucker' status. "Sookie treats my shirts for me."

"Would she do mine?"

"No."

"How does she do it?"

"She's fond of tanning. She wears them for a few moments afterwards."

"So I assume the fuck notes to your scent are just a remainder of a fortunate early evening."

If he wasn't a King, I'd have pushed him away. Since I'd brought the attention to myself, I laughed, "A _**very**_ fortunate evening."

"You're quite lucky to have found such a treasure… The rest of us are lucky that you'd be willing to share any of her bonuses." He directed me to sit down and finally left my side to take his seat. "I'm eager to meet her. Did you not bring her with you tonight?"

"She's here… being meticulous at the moment. She's scanning the humans in attendance. Isobel is assisting her."

"You trust your pet to be alone?"

"Implicitly. As for others, since I'm bonded to her, I'll have no problem sensing any form of trouble. In fact, I'm sure she's already found two undesirables in the house." Her usual tell that she detected them was a blend of disgust and rage.

He chuckled, making his jowls jiggle. "_Curious, curious_… So, Northman, what has gotten into your Queen's head?"

"Pardon?"

"She sent you to Texas instead of Arkansas even though everyone knows she's been making preparations for that union. She sent her own children and Quinn as a grand gesture… She's kissing my ass like she's forgotten that doesn't work on me. What is she up to? Rather, what are _**you all**_ up to since you've so recently been named Lieutenant." That would have been the perfect time to call her and say 'I told you so'… _**One**_ fucking night and my promotion was already raising eyebrows.

"Are you familiar with the term, 'circling the wagons'?"

"I am… I'm assuming there are barbarians at the gate then."

"Isn't there always?"

He nodded. "Should I accept her proposal?" Fuck me.

"I hardly think…"

"Would you marry her?"

"I doubt…"

"In the strictest of confidences…" I should've fucking known that he wouldn't let me get out of the conversation, but feeling Pam arrive and knowing that she'd stay with Sookie helped me relax slightly.

"I refused."

"It wouldn't have anything to do with the rumors of how attached you are to your pet?" Only partly.

"No."

"Then your reasons would be…?"

"That if I wanted to rule, I'd be doing it already."

He cackled. "I've heard you're arrogant too!"

"At the risk of offending, in my case, the more fitting word is competent. I don't want the position. I came to the States to escape the political black hole that Europe had become. I knew it was only a matter of time, but it was nice while it lasted."

"Is Louisiana destitute? Was your proposal based on your financial reputation?"

"No. To the best of my knowledge, she's never had any trouble paying the rent."

"So the proposal I received is simply an alliance."

I nodded, hoping I was right. "In my opinion Texas would've been a wiser choice all along. Not only are you the biggest territory and in need of nothing, but you are already an ally… a smarter maneuver than marrying her own Sheriff at any rate." It must've been Andre's idea.

"If I marry your Queen, would you be my Lieutenant too?" The tone he used was nauseating… like a bleating goat.

"Absolutely not. Then I'd have to start sacrificing virgins to assure both of you live forever. Do you know how hard it is to find a virgin anymore?"

He laughed again, but that time was much more sedate, less theatrical. "I like you."

"You're not my type." I preferred the smell of sunshine to… _How did he manage to reek of cabbage as a Vampire?_

"Pity. _You're mine_…" I might've been sickened by the idea if it hadn't reminded me that the man who'd delivered the message about Webster was tall with light hair and blue eyes. "Tell your Queen that you've talked me into further discussion. My first condition is that you are my Envoy. Her child… Andre is a rankling cont. No personality."

"I'm sure she'll be happy to hear it…"

"Between us, my only reason for taking her on is because of how eager I am to have Texas added to Miss Stackhouse's contract." Asshole. Shrewd asshole, but still an asshole.

"I'm sure Mr. Cataliades will be sent to see you tomorrow."

"Good, good. I enjoy his company. Have her send him here. I'm staying for a few days… Tell me, did you have the opportunity to inspect your gift?"

"Gift?"

"Yes, yes… I was keeping him for myself, but after Miss Stackhouse proved to be so useful, Mr. Webster seemed like a fitting thank you gift… My apologies for the secrecy, but I'm sure you'd prefer to keep knowledge of him within your camp… I was told that you trust your Were guard, hence…" That explained a lot and would relieve Alcide from his paranoia, but I was distracted from his rambling…

I spent a moment trying to figure out why Sookie was suddenly so baffled… baffled and terrified… barely a second…

The panic that took her over was just as palpable in her voice when I heard her scream, "EVERYBODY GET DOWN!"

Before I could get to her in the sudden barrage of bullets that cut through the house, I was hit in the side with a bullet and nearly knocked over by a vampire racing to the back…

The more I wanted to get to Sookie, the more got in my way. Bodies, furniture, cowards darting for safety…

Sookie's mood had become the all too familiar 'nothing', leaving me only the ring to help find her in the debris…

The only line of sight I had on anything remotely promising was a tiny section of light blue fabric hiding under an overturned sofa in front of a picture window that was still being riddled with bullets…

I barely noticed that I was shot in the arm when I passed the front door that had been splintered apart in the one-sided firefight.

My ears were ringing…

Blood, splinters and down were everywhere…

And when it was all over there was nothing left but silence for a moment…

Still. Perfectly still.

While the fit were still in shock and before the injured could complain.

When I flipped the sofa over, the first thing I saw was Wybert, sprawled out… covering not just most of Sookie, but Pam as well…

Wybert wasn't suffering anymore than I was, but Pam was bleeding all over the floor…

I shoved him out of my way, answering his grunted question by pointing in Siegbert's direction… he'd thrown himself on top of Jason and they were both starting to push themselves from the floor…

I rolled Pam over to find Hunter under her… seeing that her leg was mostly healed, tending to her was as easy as yanking a diminishing human over for her to feed from…

Even in my frenzy to feed Pam, it didn't escape me that Sookie and Hunter were laying exactly as Ema had drawn them… and we'd all assumed they were snuggled together for a nap when we saw the sketch.

Hunter was the first of the two of them to be roused, confused and rubbing his head… I had to pry Sookie's arm away from him and he immediately wrapped his arms around my neck, sobbing that Sookie was hurt…

Sookie was hurt.

Sookie was hurt and I couldn't feel it. Why the fuck wouldn't I have been able to feel it?

Hunter's panic made everything nearly impossible…

I needed to tend to Sookie, but he wouldn't let go and shouldn't have seen his surroundings… The only thing I could think of was to move him to hold onto my back and tell him to 'hide'.

I was almost afraid to roll Sookie onto her back…

Not knowing…

Not feeling anything…

Not feeling anything but my own wounds…

My own wounds…

Fuck.

She'd been laying on her wound…

In her side, not far from where I'd been hit…

The blood of dozens of people and vampires had masked the scent of hers…

I had to 'call' her to make her conscious enough to crack her eyes…

And she asked if everyone else was 'ok' before she let me put my wrist to her mouth…

Her pull was weak enough that she hadn't gotten nearly enough before my wrist closed, but she grabbed my arm before I could reopen it…

She breathed, "Stop them."

"Who?"

She started trying to sit up and choked, "sto…" She cleared her throat and forced out, "STOP!"

It wasn't until everyone was looking at her that I realized anything had been going on around me. The Vampires, most of them still healing and getting their bearings were moving for the door to go after the armed gang of Humans who'd mowed down most of the pets in the house.

Sookie sputtered, "Don't kill them… bring them back alive…" She struggled to get to her feet, refusing to take my help and clearing her throat again. "If y'all drain them, you have more bodies to get rid of…" She stopped, grabbing her side and wincing. "Call 9-1-1… Call the news… I know y'all can take care of this your way, but if you play this right… this could make news nation… nation… nationally… Newlin just tied his own… his own noose... He was one of them… There were 21…"

From the other side of the room, beyond a disintegrated piano, Davis's voice boomed, "Bring them all back alive."

The second he was finished, every able bodied Texas Vampire was gone fast enough that the breeze pushed Sookie off her balance.

She didn't have the strength to get to a chair on her own. Hunter nearly fell from my back when I scooped her up to get her off of the floor.

She held her side and whimpered… "I got a sneezing fit while my ribs were broken… That was worse."

"You need to heal…"

"So do you… go find a donor."

"You need to heal now."

She sighed, "I'll make you a deal… If I pass out again…"

"No deals…"

"I'm a… a human victim… I need to give a statement…"

"Sookie…"

"Where's Jason?"

"Siegbert took him down. He's fine."

"Pam?"

"A bullet went through her leg… She's sore. She'll be fine after she has a donor. You need to heal…"

"So do you. Go feed. Then I will."

"Me? You fed me earlier… I'm already…" The bullets had already been expelled and were pelleting around in my shirt.

"I'm stable. Go find a donor for you and Pam."

"No. I'll wait."

She grunted as she tried to stand, "How did I fall in love with such a stubborn man?"

"You aren't getting up."

"I need a phone…" She didn't need to get up for that.

"Pam! Bring a phone from one of the bodies."

While we waited, I pushed Sookie's dress up to look at the wound… she was still oozing blood everywhere… one large entry wound… swollen, ripped open, singed… rising and falling with her labored breathing… her color was gone…

She took the cell phone from Pam and as she dialed 9-1-1, she mumbled, "Waste not, want not… If you won't go feed, at least take that…"

Obstinate bitch.

After calling 9-1-1, she asked anyone within earshot for the name of the local networks and called them all with a report that she was looking at a bloodbath…

As I cleaned the wound, she ran her fingers through my hair… the action only served to calm her down. It made me more desperate to heal her.

She wouldn't hide in my bubble because she was afraid to be unconscious…

She told Jason to shut up for urging her to take my blood…

When Stan was done with his duties she asked him how many were lost, and then alerted him that Gabe was on the lawn and needed to be taken somewhere and 'saved for later'… she listened to let Davis know when Newlin and his wife had been fetched as her way of delaying another suggestion to let me heal her.

Twelve minutes had come and gone, dragging by at a snail's pace, and I still wasn't hearing sirens…

Sookie's hand was getting cold… her legs… she was trembling…

I'd had enough.

More than enough…

She mustered the strength to scowl at me when I bit into my wrist again…

I pushed it to her mouth and held her head with my other hand so that she couldn't refuse it. "I know you can handle the pain, but there's no point. You can claim that the blood on your dress came from looking for survivors."

She growled against my arm, but since she was healing as quickly as she could swallow, I couldn't have cared less. She could be furious with me if she wanted… but she wasn't going to suffer.

I wasn't going to let her bleed anymore than she had to.

I wasn't going to ignore her pain. I couldn't.

She fed until I watched the bullet fall from its entrance…

"Happy now?"

I nodded. "Now that your body is free of bullets, yes… What the fuck were you thinking?"

She leaned forward, still tender, but much stronger, kissing my cheek before whispering, "I was thinking that I'd be fine long enough to give a statement and identify them… I'm the only human that was hurt and still alive… Hunter and I are the only ones who heard them."

Wallace Milne had arrived at Sookie's side suddenly enough to startle her. "And you thought that an infirmed testimony would have more veracity than an 'uninjured fangbanger'?"

Sookie nodded with a shrug. "Veracity _and sympathy_… and we're talking about accusing 'God fearing Christians' of racial cleansing… Their reputation is love and casseroles and y'all have fangs and creepy toadies."

"I think that precious little frock you're wearing might be a point in our favor, stain notwithstanding. _Sut mae?_" I thought for a moment I might need to translate for her, that she probably hadn't come across the Welsh greeting…

"Highs and lows. I'm a little weak, but recovering… Better than the rest of the humans though. Then again, I had help getting to the floor faster than them. How about you?"

He shrugged. "I was hit with a flying chair when a certain Vampire left my company, other than that, only a flesh wound." Fuck.

I nodded apologetically. I hadn't realized that I left the office so quickly. "My apologies, Majesty. My child and the three humans under my protection…"

"Nonsense. All is forgiven… Your pet has layers of value, that much is evident and more than excuses your haste. So, Miss Stackhouse, what's next?"

She smiled weakly. "Well, I'm a little frazzled… I need to be closer to the shooters…"

As she heaved herself from the chair, Wybert snorted, "Rula."

She giggled at him, "What? Are you going to read their minds? Let me know and I'll just go back to the hotel…"

He rolled his eyes to look at me. "Ist brat." No kidding.

I hadn't paid much attention as I carried Sookie to the lawn…

The Dallas Vampires had lined the gunmen and women up, face down with their hands behind their heads… it looked as though they'd seen too many mafia movies.

Milne had been just behind us, carrying a chair out for Sookie… the King… carried a chair… for a Human…

That, by itself, was a good enough reason for the news to be called.

While the rest of us lingered, watching over her, I sent Pam and Wybert back to the hotel with Hunter so that he could calm down as soon as possible… Sookie had the forethought to record a message for him with Pam's phone so that he'd know she was recovering and panned the rest of us at the end of her message to prove that everyone else was 'ok'… And Pam managed to think about going back in for his Atlas.

There were 32 Vampires on the lawn of Stan Davis's nest, all of them standing watch over the captive Fellowship members and doing a poor job of controlling their tempers with Steve Newlin spouting prayer after prayer into the grass under his face.

By the time the police arrived all 3 of the local networks were setting up cameras… Sookie, Davis, Milne and I had decided that Sookie had been 'standing by an open window' when she heard Newlin lead them in prayer just before the first shot rang out.

Sookie was willing to be known as a Telepath, but stated too plainly that Humans could only believe so much… that they'd need smaller doses… expecting the Human public to 'buy' that assholes go to church AND Vampires could be victimized AND that telepathy wasn't just something from comic books… it would seem too farfetched… as Sookie put it, their 'I believe' buttons would break.

With Sookie's continuing improvement, I let my mind wander through the possible scenarios rather than focus on the spread of worshipping assholes who managed to make Vampires look like angels, even if it was just for the moment…

"Davis, do you have any pull with local law enforcement? Specifically, corrections."

"Some. Why?" Milne's eyes lit up, knowing that I'd already found a use for Brian Webster.

"Can you make sure that the males of this mob are detained in Hutchins?"

"Most likely… Once publicity dies down, can you arrange for accidents there?"

"While the publicity is still hot… no accidents… confessions."

"And then?"

I shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll kill themselves."

As Milne ordered Stan to 'make it happen', Sookie clutched her side and giggled about Heaven's Gate.

Sookie's interview was painfully drawn out…

The only amusing thing about the process was that the mob on the lawn was handcuffed and flipped over like fish at market so that Sookie and a few other vampires could identify them as guilty parties...

Sookie identified the prayer that Newlin had led his attack with… Psalm 144…

As she recited it, one by one, no less than half of the Vampires on the lawn joined her… "Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. O Lord, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow. Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down! Touch the mountains so that they smoke! Flash forth the lightning and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them! Stretch out your hand from on high; rescue me and deliver me from the many waters, from the hand of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood." And Pam wondered why I never bought religion. The ambiguity of their own prayer could've been the same one cited before Vampires sought their vengeance.

One of the officers was unmoved enough to ask if there was a psalm for 'pricks who kill their own kind for headlines' since the death toll only included humans.

When all was said and done, Sookie was released after retelling her account 3 times and giving her contact information…

She felt well enough to tauntingly wave to the Newlins as they were shoved into the back seat of one of the many squad cars as I led her and the rest of our group to our limo.

It was no surprise when Sookie insisted on walking through the lobby when we returned to the hotel. She was unsteady, weak, dizzy, her body temperature was still too low and her heartbeat wasn't as strong as usual…

But she still walked towards the donor lounge…

"Sookie…"

"After what just happened, do you really want me to let the Berts take their chances? Pam? It's just a quick stop."

"You're impossible."

She had her mouth open, more than likely planning to ask me what my point was judging by her mood, when Jason interrupted. "I got Pam… Don't worry about her…"

Sookie's mouth hung open as wide as mine while we watched Jason walk towards the elevator. No discussion. No hesitation…

Finally she snorted, "One down."

"Fine. 5 minutes." She could've argued with me for longer than it would take her to find a pair of suitable donors for the Berts.

She barely set foot inside the lounge, stopping to lean against me while she focused on their minds.

Sookie got the attention of one woman and waved her over to us, then another two who seemed to be a matched pair…

She sent them on their way with Siegbert… but she stayed put.

No. There was no fucking reason.

Even if I hadn't growled as soon as I caught on, she'd have been able to feel how unwilling I was.

As I took her hand, she snatched it away from me… darting into the room to grab the arm of a passing donor and racing to catch up to me as the elevator door had opened.

She was already short of breath when returned to my side with the unnecessary meal in a latex corset. "Whatever. But I'm not taking another drop until you feed." The skanky volunteer stared at me, moony eyed. There wasn't a single fucking thing I missed about fangbangers. I hadn't ever enjoyed them as much as resorted to them.

"You'd refuse? You're in pain."

"I'm not going to weaken you."

"I don't want her." Even saying it didn't discourage the bloodbag from eyefucking me.

"_**You**_ didn't give _**me**_ the choice. You were being pigheaded about my health. Now I'm in the presence of mind to return the favor. You don't have to like it. You don't have to enjoy it. A thousand years, Eric. They didn't all smell like sunlight or taste like sugar. But they gave you the strength you needed. Feed."

"Are you ordering me to…?"

"If I could force you like you forced me, we wouldn't be talking right now. I love you. You were shot twice trying to get to me. Please. Get it over with."

We were very close to arguing again… I was very close to opening the elevator and shoving the donor into the waiting hallway and facing the impending argument. I could've returned the silent treatment she'd given me the last time we'd argued…

The last time we argued…

It was a fight over the other's well being… safety or strength, it didn't matter. We would've been at odds over the same fucking thing all over again.

I'd be damned…

In the amount of time it took for me to drain the donor of two mouthfuls of the barely palatable swill from her cheap perfume drenched neck, I realized how completely spoiled I'd become…

_**Then**_ I stopped the elevator and tossed her useless ass into the hallway of the 7th floor.

The door to our room was already open. Ema and Alcide were waiting with Pam, Jason, Paulette and a sleeping Hunter. They were all watching MSNBC's coverage of 'Newlin's Massacre'. The networks had already given a catchy name to the 'vicious carnage in one of Dallas's finest neighborhoods resulting in the deaths of 28 innocent people'.

Sookie kissed my hand before letting go and heading straight to the bathroom to start the bath we both needed. For the first time in memorable history, Pam ignored the promise of news and followed to help Sookie.

The portfolio was on the dinette, reminding me of the drawing that I had only just stopped reliving. I leafed through to find it, to look at the date… "Ema, you've met everyone?"

"Yeah. Alcide introduced me. Pam says I need a makeover." No. Pam? _Really?_

I finally found the sketch… dated two days ago. The night Ferrell was found. I pulled it out of the pile and searched the list for other clues. "Paulette, Ema needs drawing supplies. I'll need you to take her shopping for that and whatever personal items she might need in the morning. Do it early so that Sookie doesn't try to pack for everyone during the day, please."

"Sure thing. I was already planning on it. How is she?"

"Thank you… Strong willed and outspoken."

"So back to normal, huh?"

"For the most part… Ema?"

She left the sofa to come stand next to me, so I handed the sketch to her. "So you know, that's exactly how Sookie and Hunter looked when I peeled Wybert and Pam off of them…"

The paper shook in her hand as she gasped a teary apology.

I slid the list of written clues closer to her and circled '144' and 'stop' and explained, "Apparently, there's a prayer… Psalm 144 is what Newlin led the attack with… and Sookie yelled stop to get everyone's attention and give orders."

"I'm sorry… I didn't know."

"How could you? I assumed that 144 was the number of shoes Pam would buy before week's end. 'Stop' could mean anything… the drawing… _seemed_ innocent."

"I don't know if I can… I don't think I can do this."

"Have you ever had a choice of what you draw or write?"

"No."

"Then perhaps, like Sookie, you just need encouragement. Don't be bothered by the ugliness. Your ability could help avoid it. We all need to learn more about it."

She gave me an unsure nod.

"Make sure to get colored pencils when you shop tomorrow. Maybe we'll be lucky enough to get more vivid hints."

"Would it have helped tonight?"

"The rug Sookie and Hunter were on was purple… because there's no background color, I assumed sheets."

Her nod seemed more hopeful than the last. "Me too… Ok. You got it."

"Thank you. Alcide… Your research…"

He interrupted, "Found nothing, but I got distracted…"

"Scrap it. Webster was a gift from Milne. When you visit him in the morning, settle your curiosity about why he's honest enough to endure his incarceration, but why he'd be willing to work for a vampire… If his answer suits you, offer him anything."

"Anything?"

"Anything but Sookie… Order something from room service for her, please. She needs to eat. I'm going to clean up."

"You want me to put Hunter to bed?"

"No. We'll do it. He'll feel better if he gets to see us in person."

Pam didn't need to be asked to leave even though I'd interrupted them. She excused herself to go back to her room and scour the internet until she replaced their dresses that had been ruined.

Sookie gave a morose cringe as she watched the bullets fall out of my shirt and bounce on the tiled floor.

I slid into the tub behind her and pulled her against my chest. I'd hated every second since I realized she'd been hurt because I'd been surrounded by Vampires… as it was, I'd been on my knees in front of 'my pet' and 'let' her refuse me…

She teasingly asked, "What? You aren't going to shove your wrist in my mouth _again_?" She was only half joking.

My turn. "What? You aren't going to insist I feed from _more_ revolting whores?"

She snorted, "Finicky asshole."

"Intractable bitch."

"You won."

"So did you."

"I still love you."

"I love you too... I could've lost you tonight."

"Through no fault of our own."

"I shouldn't have let you stop me…"

"Hold on. As soon as Hunter and I heard them praying, I grabbed Hunter and I was yelling as I hit the floor. _I didn't wait_. Wybert pushed Pam over and flipped the sofa over us… You saw to Pam and you healed me enough that I could get up… I shouldn't have waited, _worried you_… but I wasn't in immediate…"

"You were getting cold."

"Eventually. That's when you stopped humoring me. Neither one of us did anything wrong. We're all fine." I almost told her to speak for herself.

"You were shot."

"You were shot twice."

"Will you let me win the fucking argument if I tell you I've been shot hundreds of times?"

"I didn't realize we were arguing. Is there a prize?"

"Damn it, Sookie, this isn't a joke. You're Human. You can't heal yourself. You could have fucking died."

She sighed and struggled to push herself out of the water, scrubbing herself lackadaisically before stepping out. "C'mon. We should tuck Hunter in. You should try to glamour him." As though her sudden silence wasn't peculiar enough…

"You can't be glamoured."

"I'm older, more practiced… by the time anyone tried, I'd already had Vampire blood. Who knows when it comes to Faeries. I think it's worth a try."

When we entered the commons, Alcide headed Sookie off by pointing to the dinette set with a large steak and salad and ordered Sookie to "Sit. Eat."

She had it in her to joke that it was a good thing he hadn't told her to rollover because she was still sore.

He scowled at her before turning to me. "I'm gonna turn in so I can be up early to run that errand and be back before the smart ass tries fucking herself up by doing too much… Ema and Paulette started making a list of stuff to shop for while y'all were cleaning up. She zoned out for a minute… It's easy to spot. She wasn't even looking when it happened."

I was too curious about her list to acknowledge anything he'd said…

I went straight to the coffee table as he let himself out.

I studied the sheet.

Over and over.

Hoping that something would come together, hoping that I could segue to a finite conclusion of what it all meant. Hadley. Curtains. Sick.

I wasn't the only one. As Sookie ate her dinner, she couldn't think of any anecdotes involving Hadley and curtains or any time she'd been ill, for that matter.

For Sookie, it made sense for 'Hadley' to finally make her way to Ema's pen since she'd been the source of so many troubles of late…

The only noteworthy curtains she could think of were the 'acres' of light-blocking curtains she and Paulette had just washed while closing up the New Orleans house…

'Sick' could mean anything from an ear infection for Hunter to Jason being hung over…

No matter how many times we went through the sketches, we made no connections.

We got nothing from the rest of the list.

Sookie finally covered her empty plate and declared, "Boys and girls, today's password is 'stumped'."

Hunter.

The poor boy had fallen to sleep on the couch. On his stomach, his face still aimed at the now black television screen, with his arm sagging to the floor because he'd been fixed to the news reports, desperate for the few glimpses he could get of those of us who stayed behind.

As soon as I touched him, he stirred, clutching to my arm and giving a relieved grin. "That was… I was scared."

Sookie kissed his cheek while I agreed with a nod. "We all were." Some of us were _**still**_ scared.

"Sookie's still hurt."

"She'll be perfect again by the time she wakes up. How does your head feel?"

"Good. Alcide gave me a Tylenol and a candy bar."

"Chocolate as medicine?"

"It has stuff in it. _Ummmmm_…"

Sookie smiled and gently ran her hand over his head. "For circulation?"

He nodded. "_That's it!_ Best. Medicine. Ever."

"Definitely. When I was little, I was clumsy. My Gran used to let me snack on chocolate chips so I wouldn't bruise as bad… You have a nice little goose-egg back there. Do you want to tell Eric about your Vampire from Monaco?"

He snarled at her over my shoulder as I started for his bedroom. "She. Doesn't. Count."

"Why not?"

While Sookie turned down his blanket so that I could set him down, he growled, "Because she didn't live there until after and only for a little while. She was born and raised in Nice." Not only had he mispronounced it, but he said it like he had a grudge with the city and punctuated his irritation with a raspberry.

"It actually rhymes with peace, _not ice_… and did you think to ask her if she knows of any indigenous Monegasque Vampires?"

He grumbled, "No."

I laughed at him in spite of the night I'd had. "Don't be so easily discouraged. You've only just started your collection. If you met all of your goals right away, you'd become bored with collecting us."

"Whatever." Another one. Lovely. Before long, everyone would whatever me.

"I'll make a deal with you. If you don't find one on your own within a year, I'll help you cheat."

"Cheat how?"

"I'll call every Sheriff I know and find one for you… Did you collect anyone interesting?"

He shrugged. "Is Rhode Island interesting?" Never. Rhode Island could find a way to be boring if it were a nudist settlement with Viagra in the water.

"Absolutely. You've found a Vampire from the smallest of all the states. You're much closer to winning your treehouse bed than you thought."

He yawned, "_Coooooool_."

His eyes were bleary from his yawn, but I managed to catch his attention, knowing that Sookie couldn't be glamoured, I didn't waste any time being gentle as I pushed… hoping I could erase what had happened…

He giggled, "Why are you staring at me?" Fuck.

"No reason. Get your rest. We go home tomorrow… Goodnight."

He looked slightly panicked. "_Home?_"

"Shreveport. _My house_."

He erased his worry with a grin. "Ok…" He threw his covers back to stand up and kiss us both and then tossed himself back to let Sookie recover him. "Night."

I waited on our bed for Sookie to brush her teeth and watched her remove her robe. As soon as she joined me, I pushed her gown out of the way so that I could look over her scar…

I hated it.

Still discolored. Still inflamed… Still there to remind me…

I shouldn't have let her be alone. I should have stayed with her while she scanned the party-goers…

As she drew from my wrist to force her healing, I was lost watching her skin finally mend itself completely and even when she curled her back to me, I still ran my hand over the area until dawn.


	27. Chapter 27

**Meanwhile**

**Chapter 27**

**Curtains**

Considering the amount of tension I felt as I came back to myself, I was expecting to rise somewhere I shouldn't.

Sookie's hands were firmly clasped around mine where she'd pulling it onto her lap and she was staring down at me… on her knees next to me, biting her lip and looking and feeling more overwhelmed than ever.

"What's happened?"

She shook her head. "I don't know… Something's wrong."

I forced my eyes away from hers to look around, take in my surroundings… Our bags were packed and sitting next to the door to the room I'd died in. Sookie was wearing a sundress I'd seen in her suitcase already. Our rings were exactly where they should've been and there was a chorus of heartbeats pounding in the commons… the television was still airing news about the Fellowship's fuckery.

"This isn't a skip."

She shook her head again.

"Then what are you worried about?"

She cleared her throat, shifting slightly and tightening her grip on my hand. "I woke up and… Alcide was already gone so I let Quinn in because he was posted outside… I ordered breakfast and started packing…"

"I told you to relax today. Did you hurt yourself?" As anxious as she was, as barely alive as I was… I could've missed any pain she might've been feeling.

Another shake of her head. "No… I'm fine. Perfect… except… we were eating breakfast…"

"Is Quinn not behaving?"

She inched closer. "He's actually getting better… Eric, why would a Vampire wake up during the day?"

"Pam rose? In the middle of the day?"

"Not Pam… Sweetie, the Berts."

I shook my head, still wracking my brain as to why Sookie was so panicked. "I couldn't possibly know. Unless it's something Sophie-Ann gave them… We could be mistaken about the reason as to why your cousin doesn't die."

Her eyes started to well. "They die… They're dead now."

"They die, but they rose. Now they're dead again?"

She nodded, taking one of her hands from mine to cover her mouth and start to sob. "It was… it was horrible."

"What did they do?"

She shook her head, crying more violently… unable to reign in her hysterics to speak coherently. While I pulled her into my lap, doing my best to force her to calm down, I looked her over to see if they'd injured her.

It took her too long… It seemed as though the little bit of calm she absorbed did nothing but transfer her alarm to me… By the time she was breathing enough to not be light headed, her face was covered in blotches and her eyes were glowing.

She sputtered, "They _screamed_…" and began hyperventilating again.

"Is that all?"

She shook her head and started fighting against my arms in a race to get to the bathroom where she started vomiting…

I left the bed to follow her, stopping to open our door to look into the commons. Jason, Alcide and Hunter were on the sofas and they immediately noticed me. I doubted any of them would succumb to a crying jag that kept them from telling me what was going on. "What the fuck happened?"

Alcide shook his head and pointed to Jason. "I was at Hutchins."

Jason, big surprise, shrugged. "I woke up to the most God awful yelling… The Berts was roaring… wasn't human…"

"They _**aren't**_ human, jackass. Had someone gotten into their rooms? Harmed them?"

He shook his head. "Naw. Me and Sook got to the hall about the same time. We was gonna check on 'em… They came running out of their rooms, swords up… Paulette was in with Ema, helping her pack… when she came out to the hall, the light hit 'em. She shut the door real fast, but they fell over… Wybert fucked himself up. Almost ran himself through…"

"Sunlight hit them and they died."

"Well… y'alls kinda dead, not _**dead**_ dead."

"That was it?"

"I helped Sook get them back to their beds… she sat with Wybert until he was pretty much healed up."

"They didn't say anything?"

He shook his head. "I cain't tell ya what they yelled. Wasn't English. Sook's all kinds of freaked out, had Paulette ward their rooms so they cain't get out… warded this one again so they ain't getting in until they're invited."

"They didn't harm anyone."

"Cept Wybert… naw."

"Sookie didn't say anything about her reasons for enclosing them?"

"Naw. Just said 'better safe then sorry'. Since they had their swords out and all…"

Alcide cleared his throat and added, "She was worried, but alright until Ema brought her a drawing." FUCK.

I was almost afraid to ask, "What's the drawing of?"

"It's a really accurate portrait of Mr. Cataliades. Sookie officially started flipping out about an hour later… went and sat with you."

"Cataliades? Anything else?"

"Picture's on the bar. Ema was all kinds of excited because she used different colors in the same drawing…"

I grabbed the sketch from the bar… Felix Cataliades in the foreground wearing his usually gracious grin and the back ground included a sketch of green and orange flowers.

Jason chuckled, "Not bad, huh? You got any ideas what kind of flowers those is?"

"Jason, those would be Dianthas and Gladiolas." Flowers. First the Queen's children wake during daylight hours to make an attempt to get to my room… then the added confusion of 'Flowers' being sent… _but for who?_ The call I'd made to Andre just before dawn could've been faked, but he'd seemed genuinely pleased to hear that Sookie was healed and that a large step had been made to discredit the Fellowship… I'd figured that the news that Milne was willing to entertain Sophie-Ann's proposal was responsible for Andre's unusually good mood… but it could've been bullshit…

What everything seemed to be adding up to…

I had served my purpose…

Sookie was more valuable than ever…

The Berts were on their way to me…

The Flowers had been sent to collect the Queen's telepaths.

"Hey! Like Mr. C's nieces, right?" I'd almost lost track of the conversation to nowhere.

"Exactly."

"That's even cooler then."

"The Berts weren't told about Ema's true nature last night. They were told that she was hired to help with Hunter, yes?"

Alcide nodded. "Yeah."

Jason shook his thick melon. "What? She wasn't? What the hell is she for then?"

"Jason, Ema is a psychic. Her drawings are premonitions."

"Yeah? Think she can help me find my cell phone?"

"Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up and be pretty."

When I joined Sookie in the bathroom, she was holding her hair back with her face submerged in the sink full of cold water.

I put a towel next to her on the counter and took her hair, rubbing her back in the hopes that she would stay as calm as she was… for the time being. Considering the possible future, she wouldn't be calm for long. I had a strong feeling that she'd had plenty of time to come to the same conclusion I had.

That our lives were about to fall to shit.

She pulled her face out of the water long enough to gasp for air and then cool her face again three times before she used the towel.

"I got as much info as I could from Alcide and Jason. What don't they know?"

Her throat clenched. "They're downstairs… They've been here for about an hour. I can't tell what they're waiting for…"

"Who?"

"Mr. C and the girls… they're all freaking out… they're freaking out like Mr. C was when he brought the proposal… All three of them are flipping their lids."

"We don't know what that means…"

"Yes we do… Eric, you have to get Pam and get the hell out of here… Go to Milne or something. The wards aren't going to hold the Berts forever. You've got to get out of here. If I cooperate, then Hunter and I will be fine. Alcide's loyalty is to me. You've got to go."

"I'm not going anywhere. Did you disarm the Berts?"

She nodded. "Yeah… what I found… their swords and guns are cased up behind the bar…"

"Then, if I have to, I'll relieve the Queen of five of her most loyal servants. I'm not going to run. Have you made arrangements with Paulette and Ema?"

"Yeah. They should be here any minute. I had Paulette re… re…" She started hyperventilating again and crashed into my chest. "Eric… please go… I get that you're a bad ass and all, but… _all 5 of them_… Milne likes you… he could give you sanctuary or something."

"The only thing I've ever hidden from is severe weather. I'll stand my ground… only one of them can get through the door at a time."

"No. No, you take Pam and regroup… I'll play along and suck it up. I doubt they'll do anything but use my telepathy for now. It'll give you time to come up with a plan."

"I have a plan."

"It could get you killed… Damn it, Eric. I've lost a lot. I refuse to lose you too."

"I'm not leaving the three humans under my protection. If they've been sent… If we're right about why, then they'd kill your brother to force your compliance… then hold Hunter's life as a guarantee."

"Because you would?"

"If I were in the practice of being an imperceptive cunt with no grasp of allegiance, yes. Turning you, considering your cousin's attributes, would be a temptation too. It would give them a way to control you."

"Then get the hell out of here. The only way…" The only way they'd get her away from me would be if I was a puddle.

"We wait."

She whimpered, "Eric…"

"Do you really want to argue? I'm not running. I'm not leaving you. We wait."

"There's no fucking exit, Eric. We're trapped in this room."

"If it comes to it, I'll push out the wall."

She shoved herself away from me and went to grab her phone. Determined, depressed, flustered. "What is that, DeSalvo Street?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Because I'm calling a cab company… just in case… I don't want you getting pinned down. We can take cabs… you can Peter Pan your way to safety… You'd be the first objective."

"You seem to be thinking ahead…"

She snapped, "No. I'm thinking about how to get out of this and still have you Goddamn it. Do you have any cash?"

"A few thousand…"

She cut me off. "What section?"

"What section of what?"

"What section of wall do you think you'll push out?"

"Sookie…"

"Eric, if you're going to be a proud jackass then fucking humor me. What section of wall do you think you'd destroy so we can get out?"

"The one in the commons would make the most sense."

She grabbed a suitcase and flipped it open, yanking her dress off and pulling on a pair of jeans… replacing her heels with sneakers and yanking a T-shirt on. "That bag there has my 'thank you' gifts in it. Alcide brought them up from the hotel safe when he got back. It's mostly jewelry. We could pawn it on the fly."

"I have access to untraceable accounts. We don't have to worry about that. Are you almost done obsessing over our escape route?"

"No. Where do we go? Michelle told me that you told her to have an escape planned… _tell me you have exit strategy_."

"From here we'd go to Houston and make our way to Monaco."

She stopped closing her suitcase mid-zip to stare at me. "Since when?"

"Night before last… before you shared your 'shit sandwich' analogy. We were thinking in terms of someone ending Sophie-Ann and leaving before I was put in a position to fight for a state I'm uninterested in ruling."

"So… everything you own…"

"It's not much. I've learned over the years to keep things as liquid as possible. My companies pay my dividends to offshore accounts. We'll be fine no matter…"

"Let me worry about getting out of the hotel. K? After that, I'm good. I could give a shit about everything else… I just don't want to walk out of here without you."

"You won't."

"Well shit, Eric. You should've told me that you're a psychic."

"Calm down."

"No. There are two, count them, **TWO** Saxons almost your age who tried to get to you in broad daylight… and two more little hitmen downstairs. Me calming down isn't likely. I doubt they're here just to let you know you won the mail in vote for Mr. Congeniality."

"Alright, let me put it another way… Calm the fuck down so I can think. Your conniption is affecting me and I need to be level headed if we have _**ANY**_ chance of getting through this." She took a deep breath, glaring at me… and I felt her fall away from our bond. Nothing.

"Better?" If ever there was something convenient about her ability to manipulate our bond, _that was it_. Since she could resist my control of it, at least she could prevent collateral damage by blocking her moods from mine.

"That isn't what I meant, but…"

I was interrupted by a knock on the bedroom door.

Without an answer, Jason still cracked the door and leaned in. "Ummm… I know y'all are bickering and stuff, but… Quinn's here… he was flippin' his shit before, but since Alcide's got his gun on 'em and ain't inviting him in, he's 'bout ready to shit his pants."

"What does he want?"

Jason shrugged. "He's asking to talk to you. Says… says it's Vampire business… Alcide says Sookie needs to stay in here since Quinn's on the payroll… says you'd know what that meant." Not only was Quinn on the Queen's payroll, but _**I'd**_ given him a gun which would make his job easier if he had the forethought (or coaching) to get wooden bullets.

Fuck. Me.

After having Jason and Hunter join her, I left Sookie where as she was, knees bouncing and running her hands through her hair nervously.

As soon as I closed the door behind me, I heard it open again… She'd cracked it so that she could eavesdrop.

Alcide had his gun drawn, just out of Quinn's reach and aimed at his face.

"What do you want, Quinn?"

He pointed to Alcide fearfully. "What's this shit? _I_ _haven't done anything!_"

"I have a lot of practice disposing of bodies, Tiger. Explain why you're here or yours will be the first one I hide _in Dallas_."

His eyes widened and he gaped for a moment before he forced himself to speak. "I… Jake… Jake Purifoy… he called…"

"It must warm the cockles of your heart that he misses you. Thank you for the update."

"He… I told him I'm in Dallas, right? I didn't tell him why, you know, that I'm here _with you_… He just saw y'all on the news like everyone else."

"Get to your point." The only reason his nose hadn't been rebroken by a slamming door was that he'd mentioned our helpful little Wolf friend.

He sputtered, "He… He wanted me to…"

"Fuck! Quinn, in case you aren't catching on, we aren't in the mood for games at the moment."

"Hadley called him, but he didn't have a signal. He just got the message a little while ago… she… she suicided today." My mouth fell open.

"She committed suicide? How does he know?"

"The message she left… he tried calling her back and got her voicemail. He went to where she was holed up… the house went up in flames around noonish." I caught myself sighing… feeling a huge relief… The Berts waking during the day could be explained by Sophie-Ann feeling Hadley's death… the transference could've clouded their grasp of their surroundings… Cataliades would be the logical courier of the news to Hadley's relatives.

"What message did she leave?"

He shook his head. "I don't know… he told me that it was private… that it was just for you and Sookie."

"She left a message for me and Sookie on his phone instead of one of ours?"

"Not by the sounds of it… but he said that it was none of my business since it's Sookie's family. He forwarded it to me… you know, so you could hear it." Note to self: Give Purifoy our phone numbers.

I nodded to Alcide to have him stand down.

As I reached for Quinn's phone, Alcide growled, "Fuck. Now I'm gonna have to be nice to Jake, aren't I?"

"More than that. I'm hoping you can train him to be a decent guard. He's proving to be relatively loyal." Not to mention how sharp the boy seemed to be when it came to dire circumstances.

I went back to my room where every surviving Stackhouse was waiting for me… Sookie had heard, but Jason and Hunter were left oblivious without the benefit of heightened hearing.

"Can you think of any reason that Hunter shouldn't hear the message?"

Sookie bit her lip and shook her head. "No… He could get it out of our heads later."

I nodded and pressed the send button to dial Quinn's voicemail and then turned the speaker on.

"Hey Jake… Ummm… I just… I just called to say… bye, I guess. I… I overheard Andre and Soph talking. He's trying to convince her to put me down. He… That prick called me _temperamental_. She said she won't do it, but she will eventually. She always listens to him eventually. Especially now that Andre finally got her to talk to Texas about marrying his queer ass and he's down with it. If I just let things go, I'm gonna get dragged out into the woods and staked and I'm not gonna go down like that. I've known for a while that they've just kept me around for the benefits… fuck them for keeping me like a candy bar. I don't care that I taste more like fae now that I'm dead. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of being used and I'm sick of the bullshit and now they've got me locked in a room like they grounded me for not doing my homework. I wish I'd died when the baby was born… if I'd known… Nevermind that… I'm just sick of it all. I didn't think it would be like this. Um… yeah… sorry… Bye."

That was it. Her farewell address amounted to just over a minute worth of annoyed ranting about being 'SICK' of her life. She had plenty of synonyms at her disposal… fed up, bored, unhappy, revolted, weary, disgusted, displeased… of all her options, she used the word _**'SICK'**_ four times. No ear infection or hangover… Hadley was sick. Two out of three… and when I reconsidered things, curtains weren't just a window treatment… Hadley was sick of her life and took her final bow… she took her curtain call. Fuck.

She didn't sound depressed, just infantile. She sounded exactly as Andre described her… _temperamental_. She'd killed herself as part of a hissy fit.

All four of us stared at the phone as though we were waiting for it to do a trick.

Hunter was the first to speak. "Hadley died?"

Sookie's eyes stared to water again. The boy had found out that his mother, estranged as she was, had died finally by listening to her suicide note. Even I felt sympathy for him.

I nodded. "She did."

He set his jaw like I'd seen Sookie do enough to know that his reaction wasn't going to be anywhere near 'sedate'. His eyes started to well as he shook his head. And finally, he wailed, "NOOOOO!"

Sookie tried to pick him up, but he ran past her to me. Lifting him when he tried to climb me felt automatic, but thinking of something settling to tell him wasn't as easy. "She wasn't a happy Vampire, Hunter. It happens a lot… Going over is too hard for some."

He hid his face, sobbing against my neck while Sookie rubbed his back. "Hunter?"

He pushed his face against me, still weeping… Sookie suddenly covered her mouth and stepped back… her crying became more severe.

"What?"

Before she could get her wits to answer, Hunter's grip tightened and he yelled through his tears, "DON'T SEND ME BACK!"

"Send you where?"

"With Remy! I don't want to go back. **I don't want to!**" I'd thought his outburst was due to grief. There truly wasn't a manual for Stackhouses.

"Hunter, if Hadley is gone then you're safe to…"

"I WANT TO STAY WITH YOU!"

Without thinking, I told him, "Fine."

He sputtered, "Rrr… really?"

"Really. If that's what it'll take to make you stop rubbing your snot all over me, then yes. _You'll stay with us_." It was a sad state of affairs that a boy his age would rather be in the company of Vampires than his own father… but judging by the look on Sookie's face, she more than understood.

When he snickered, he backed away enough to wipe the side of my neck. "What if Remy wants me back?"

"I'll glamour him."

"To change his mind?"

"To think Hadley is still alive and a danger to you."

"I get… I get to… You'll keep me?"

"Why not? You don't make much mess. You're a good pet."

He seemed satisfied with my answer, if not amused with the joke, and when I set him down so that he could go clean his face, Jason finally broke his silence… He hugged Sookie and told her he 'got it'.

It took longer for Sookie to calm down than Hunter.

She all but collapsed onto the bed, only holding her head up by bracing her elbows on her knees and taking deep breaths through her hands.

"Do you realize how this changes things?"

She shook her head without looking up.

I sat next to her and she slumped against my side. "Quinn said the fire happened around noon. That's when the Berts rose?"

She nodded.

"Sophie-Ann would've felt her child's death. She most likely rose the same way in New Orleans… Understand?"

"I guess… I guess I was freaking out for nothing?"

"Not exactly. You reached the same conclusion I did. Until we heard about Hadley, that's what all the available roads led to."

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." She hadn't been yelling at me as much as the situation. If I hadn't understood that, then we would've had a repeat of our last argument.

"I yelled back…" Hunter came from the bathroom with a quirky smile on his face and handed a washrag to me for 'his snot'. "Thank you…"

Sookie took the rag and cleaned the side of my neck for me. "The Daemons?"

"Probably just here to inform you of the death in the family."

She nodded as the information sunk in. "I'm going to call room service then… have them send donors up for the Berts. They tend to wake up just after you do."

I'd only risen half an hour before, even then it was early because of Sookie's mood…

At least Sookie's disposition was less burdened as it slowly came back to our bond.

Quinn was giving (seemingly) genuine condolences to Sookie when I tossed his phone back to him and sat on the sofa next to Ema… Hunter had grabbed her recent drawing and her portfolio and bounced onto my lap.

Hunter pouted when I shushed him because of Quinn's presence… Patience wasn't a virtue of the young apparently.

Once Quinn was _thanked with all our hearts_ for his messenger skills and excused, Hunter eagerly unzipped Ema's binder. "Your ability is awesome."

She giggled as she watched him. "Thanks."

"I was wondering about your brain. It's crazy big and super still."

"As opposed to?"

He stopped leafing through her sketches and gave her a serious look. "Small and busy."

She bit her lip to dial back her amusement. "I meant what are other brains like?"

He nodded his head from side to side as he went back to his task. "Small and busy. Humans are like a blender. Noise and all. Vampires are awesome too 'cause they're quiet…" He stopped again to study the ceiling. "Depending on the Vampire, it's like watching a river go by."

"Like hypnotic?"

He blurted, "YEAH!" and it made her jump. He continued with a giggle, "_That's the word_."

"So mine is like… what? Like a pond? You said it's still."

He shook his head while he thought about it. He blurted again, "Rock candy…"

Sookie giggled from her post of watching for donors at the doorway. "That's perfect. That's exactly what it's like… little crystals."

He nodded enthusiastically and studied the once mysterious sketch of the room in flames before he thrust it to Ema. "That happened."

She gasped, "What!?"

"Today. That happened today."

"Oh my God! Was someone hurt!?"

He nodded. "Yep. Hadley died. Killed herself." No feeling. He was as invested in that sketch as I'd been in the drawing of Fangtasia's bombing.

Her eyes started to fill and I was tempted to jokingly ask if I was going to get a turn crying. "Who… who is Hadley?"

Hunter shrugged. "She was my mother. She was a bratty Vampire. She killed herself because she didn't like her lot."

"You… you _poor baby_."

He pet her hand. "It's ok. She tried to kill me. Anyway…" He pushed the new sketch of Cataliades into her lap. "He's cool. You drew him 'cause you're about to meet him. He's downstairs."

She heaved out a deep breath and gulped. "Oh God… Is he going to die or is he going to kill someone else?"

I answered her. "He's here to tell us about Hadley. I'm sure he didn't realize the news would beat him here. Pam's fond of the saying, 'you can't outrun Motorola'…" I pointed to the flowers. "You'll meet them too. Diantha and Gladiola are his nieces and they've come with him."

She flopped her head back to rest on the sofa. "Great… they're gonna die then!"

Hunter inched off of my lap, taking over my task of encouraging her… he flipped the stack of sketches over and began going through them. "Don't do that. Don't cry. Look… All the bad stuff you drew happened already. Look. All that's left is these two."

Alcide shook his head. "Nope… that one with the boxes stacked up… I think that's done too." I'd already made my own assumptions since Sookie was planning to move to Shreveport.

"Sookie?"

"My meeting today. _Webster_. Since you offered a house to the guy, his 'anything' was that his daughter could go ahead and move into it with her kids. Her husband just took off."

"That was his 'anything'? His genie wish?"

"Yeah."

"And the answer to your question… his reasons for staying, but still being willing to work for me?"

"Said he figured if he went on the lam he'd never get to see his family again. Turns out the reason he was doing his thing was because he'd been pink slipped… finding new work wasn't easy for him."

"Explaining the small increments..."

"And weekly withdrawals… He seems straight forward enough. Said he wants the right to turn you down for certain work written into his contract."

"To what extent?"

"I don't think your plans are going to give him a bad taste. I think it's more of an innocent women and children thing."

"Do you have an address for his daughter?"

"I put Paulette to work when I got back. She can't sit still when she's worried. She's already rented a house and scheduled a moving company. I called Shelby and told her that I just got out of jail, owed her dad a favor for watching my back… cellmates… blah blah blah. She moves next weekend."

"Nice work."

"Do I get a biscuit?" I was definitely finding out I was a 'dog person'.

"No… but I think Sookie has something for you."

He braced himself when she started to giggle. "Told. You. So."

He growled at himself. "That wasn't so ba…"

"_Toldyaso, toldyaso, toldyaso_…"

"That's SOOOOO grown up!"

She started her reply with a raspberry and called him a 'dingleberry' after singing several more toldyasos.

At least she was being difficult in his direction… and in somewhat of a joking mood.

When I heard the elevator bell ring, Sookie's mood darkened again, but only slightly.

Sookie still managed to sound friendly. "Hey there. Ladies, you can wait right there. They're just starting to stir… Mr. C, Diantha, Gladiola, nice to see you again."

Cataliades sounded just as nervous as Sookie described. "Miss Stackhouse, always a pleasure, but I'd like to meet you under more positive circumstances eventually."

She sighed. "We heard. Jake called Quinn. He got a voicemail from Hadley."

"I'm sorry, dear. I was first alerted by Miss Broadway. I have to assume that Mr. Purifoy received a similar message."

"It would've been nice if she'd bothered herself with a message for her son… I guess that would be asking too much. Please come in."

"I should notify the Berts as well…"

"They know something's up. They woke up when it happened. They were out of sorts enough to leave their rooms. Once they're completely with it, I'll go fetch them… I was going to tell them, but… What are y'all doing?"

When Alcide and Jason's eyes bulged, I turned to look at them since my back had been to the door.

I rolled my eyes when I saw them… Cataliades and both of his nieces were all bowed, on one knee. "I'm not amused. Get up."

"Apologies."

Sookie excused herself to go to the Berts so I invited the Daemons to sit down and asked Ema (our _nanny_) to take Hunter to his room to 'help him pack'.

When he opened his mouth to start his explanation, I stopped him. "In the interest of saving you the trouble of repeating yourself, I'm sure Sookie will only be a moment."

He nodded and proceeded to fester and sweat in his seat… and drum his fingers on his briefcase handle.

While we waited, I sent Jason to explain to Pam and bring her back…

Waiting…

Drumming…

Staring…

I could feel Sookie's sympathetic nature kick into overdrive, most definitely including tears, before she closed herself off again.

The awkward silence made the rhythmic pounding on the leather attaché case deafening.

Alcide went to the bar and offered drinks… he was most likely inspired by the lawyer's weeping pores… He looked hot enough that I might've been parched.

Paulette joined us.

Jason returned with Pam.

Sookie was still standing in Wybert's room and the 20 minute wait was making me worry enough to consider going after her…

As she slowly made her way back to our suite, she opened herself up again and if I didn't know better, I'd swear that she was trying to calm my nerves… It actually made me smile.

The Berts loitered along the wall, pausing to give me a deep nod… And Sookie stopped directly behind me, putting her hands on my shoulders, and sighed, "All present and accounted for, Master."

"Mr. Cataliades, you've got a captive audience."

He nodded and flipped open his briefcase. "Right… ummmm… Majesty…"

I could've choked. "Lieutenant is bad enough. Are you trying to piss me off?"

He pulled his lips over his teeth and whimpered… His terrified look wasn't as confusing as the way Sookie gave my shoulders a squeeze.

"Go on."

He cleared his throat and fidgeted. "Um…"

"Just fucking call me Eric. Don't make it difficult. I didn't kill you for being the messenger last time. Relax."

He nodded, looking no more relaxed. "Errrr… uhhhh… _Eric_, there's plenty to discuss. I imagine we could do that on the plane if you don't want to delay your return." How much could there be to discussing the death of a newborn fucking Vampire. I wasn't fool enough to think she'd have had a will at all, let alone left anything to Hunter since she didn't bother leaving him as much as message to remember.

"I doubt it's that complicated. You do a lot of worrying. Go on."

He nodded again, "Majesssss… _**Eric**_, there's the matter of the private estate and accounts that have been left to Wybert and Siegbert Kuester…" Bully for them. It was probably all gifted as a tax shelter to Hadley from the Queen and left to them as an extension of her final conniption fit.

"You should discuss that with them privately. Is there anything you need me for?"

"Uhhhhh… ye… yessir… yes… The most pressing of matters would be the realignment of treaties and trusts for the Kingdom." Lovely. Sophie-Ann was incapacitated by Hadley's death. Why wouldn't I love being Lieutenant? _Fucking dream job._

"If that's the most pressing, then what else is there?"

"It's going to be a bit harrowing. I only brought the emergent items with me. I suppose you should decide if you'll be appointing a new Sheriff…"

"I've already told you that Pam will regulate Area 5 in my absence."

He nodded. "In that case, do you plan to rule from Shreveport?"

"I thought we established that we'd tend to the state as bookends." Sookie squeezed my shoulders again. I was starting to feel like I was missing something.

"Eric… you… you're the only bookend."

"I beg your pardon."

"I'm… I'm sorry. Miss Stackhouse, when we arrived. She said you'd been notified."

"We have…"

Sookie interrupted me. "Eric, we didn't get the whole story. I don't think it's Jake's fault either."

"What. Did. He. Leave. Out?"

She whimpered too… what the fuck. "_Hadley_… Hadley didn't just kill herself."

I was afraid of the answer. So help me. I didn't want to ask… I decided that I definitely WAS NOT going to ask when Cataliades opened his mouth…

I felt like bracing myself like Alcide had when Sookie teased him.

Cataliades took a deep breath, no happier to say it than I was to hear it. "Majesty, as per her punishment, Hadley was confined to the Queen's chambers. The room's door was sealed electronically so that she couldn't leave while Andre and the Queen rested."

"Tell me it's a joke _**NOW**_ and no one gets killed. _**Pam!**_ Tell me this is just the best fucking prank you've ever orchestrated!"

Pam couldn't look at me. She shook her head and stared at the floor. "I wish it was."

"FINE! I'll play. How did Hadley, the most inept Vampire to ever stain the fucking planet, manage to end her fucking maker?"

Everyone traded loaded glances back and forth until I was tempted to go for the Berts' weapons.

As far as I could tell, Cataliades was the only one who knew exactly what happened.

"Majesty, Andre and Sophie-Ann were resting and… Hadley, Hadley… it seems… she…she…"

"She… she… she… Spit it the fuck out!"

"She lit their bed on fire… and yanked down the light blocking curtains."


End file.
